The recent news almost makes people believe that all of the people guarding the U.S. southern border with Mexico detention centers are beyond cruel. Donald Trump has intentionally set up an immigration deterrent system that forces sick unsupervised toddlers into extremely cold holding cells with pallets and a mylar sheet that is as comforting as sleeping with a box of aluminum foil. Agents lock men into a standing-room-only cell, so crowded that there is literally no room to lie down or even sit. Younger children are hungry and the lights burn 24-hours a day in their cells. Teenage girls have to go outside into the dark to reach their portable restrooms. Not all guards are mean. Fortunately, there are the good ones, the whistleblowers who told this story.
The U.S. Customers and Border Protection department recognized “disturbing social media activity” when the non-profit ProPublica exposed a secret Facebook site for near 10,000 current and past Border Patrol agents.
The site included gruesome jokes about the refugees dying and then turned on the Hispanic Caucus members who came to go through the facilities with a “lewd meme” about Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
U.S. Border Patrol Chief of Operations Brian Hastings was interviewed by CNN Newsroom’s Brooke Baldwin. He said:
‘We take all the posts that were put out today very seriously. These do not represent the thoughts of the men and women of the US Border Patrol. Each one of these allegations will be thoroughly investigated.’
Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Representative Joaquin Castro (D-TX) tweeted:
‘These agents don’t deserve to wear any uniform representing the United States of America.’
In one of her tweets, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) addressed the secret CBP Facebook group, calling it:
‘(It’s a) racist & sexually violent secret CBP Facebook group. They’re threatening violence on members of Congress.’
As she emerged from the Clinton Border patrol building in El Paso, Ocasio-Cortez told CNN:
‘In the last facility, I was not safe from the officers.’
Hastings pointed out how many refugees the Border Patrol agents save each year:
‘(They) put their life on the line to save various individuals throughout the year.’
Escobar told CNN that there was no way to be able to discern whether all the group’s participants were part of the federal law enforcement. However, she said their words went to a “broader group of people:”
‘It’s obviously not acceptable for anyone to threaten a member of Congress. I’m more concerned that there are men and women, people in Customs and Border Protection and DHS, who feel this way about migrants, especially children.’
Hastings commented that he would advise Ocasio-Cortez:
‘Ma’am, we are professionals. We are dealing with a crisis right now. Over 680,000 apprehensions so far this year. Agents are under a great deal of stress. It could be civilians or spouses of agents. I can say with certainty that they represent a lot of hate out there against people like me who advocate for the dignity of human beings.’
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) commented that DHS and CBP had “clear and systemic problems that must be addressed immediately:”
‘This Facebook group is beyond sexist and racist — it is truly abhorrent and shameful, and there is no excuse for this depraved behavior. The agents found to be responsible for these vile comments should no longer have the privilege of representing the United States of America in uniform.’
The Mueller Report Adventures: In Bite-Sizes on this Facebook page. These quick, two-minute reads interpret the report in normal English for busy people. Mueller Bite-Sizes uncovers what is essentially a compelling spy mystery. Interestingly enough, Mueller Bite-Sizes can be read in any order.
Featured image is a screenshot via YouTube.
