Probe Sought of Border Patrol Checkpoint Actions
The Associate Press reports that the American Civil Liberties Union is seeking a probe into several Border Patrol checkpoints in Arizona following a series of complaints. The ACLU wrote a letter to the Department of Homeland Security citing twelve specific cases and requesting a review of checkpoint policies to ensure agents are acting within constitutional guidelines. ACLU attorney James Lyall noted the following as reoccurring complaints regarding Border Control: extended interrogation, detention not related to establishing citizenship, invasive searches, verbal harassment, physical assault, and other abuses. In addition, he stated that Border Patrol checkpoints are often “operated as drug interdiction checkpoints, which are unconstitutional.”
Shawn Moran, Vice President of the National Border Patrol Council, denied any unconstitutional behavior on behalf of his union. He allowed that some agents may make mistakes, but he claimed that many prolonged stops are due instead to uncooperative drivers. The ACLU also requested a probe in October of 2013, criticizing agents for detainments and searches well outside of the mandated patrol area by the Arizona Mexico border. That complaint followed the settlement of an ACLU lawsuit over similar allegations in Washington state.
http://news.yahoo.com/probe-sought-border-patrol-checkpoint-actions-005856215.html
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Border Patrol Arrests Increased in 2013
PoliceOne.com reports that border apprehensions increased during fiscal 2013. Border Patrol agents apprehended 420,789 individuals, 414,397 of which came from the Southwest border alone. This marks a 16% increase over 2012, but still 42% below the peak apprehension year of 2008. Border Patrol officials have responded by sending additional manpower and technology to crucial crossing zones, including a fleet of unmanned drones. The Department of Defense has also sent repurposed surveillance technology to aid along the southwest border, such as helium-filled aerostats carrying powerful infrared cameras.
Border Patrol Chief Michael Fisher claims that while the number of Mexican citizens apprehended at the border has remained largely the same, the number of arrests of Central American immigrants has increased 55%. Limited economic opportunities and violence tied to gangs and drug cartels has driven many from their homes in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. Customs and Border Protection has also reportedly seized 2.9 million pounds of drugs along the southwest border.
http://www.policeone.com/border-patrol/articles/6750792-Border-Patrol-arrests-increased-in-2013/
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Border Patrol Agent Shoots, Kills Migrant Who Threw Rocks
CNN.com reports that social justice groups are criticizing the use of lethal force in the case of one Border Patrol Agent who shot an apparently undocumented immigrant. The incident occurred on the California-Mexico border near San Diego. The victim was reportedly throwing rocks at the agent, striking him in the face. Andrea Guerrero, executive director of Alliance San Diego, called the incident indicative of a “disturbing trend” of unnecessarily lethal force along the U.S.-Mexican border. Border Patrol declined to comment on the incident, but in the past the agency has spoken out about the inevitability of lethal force in certain rock-throwing incidents.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/19/us/california-border-rock-throwing-death/
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