Abuses

Recent Features

No Action Taken: Lack of CBP Accountability in Responding to Complaints of Abuse

One of the most revealing findings of this report concerns the prevailing lack of action taken by CBP officials in response to the complaints received.

READ MORE

All Abuses Content

  • Blog

Groups Sue U.S. Government for Turning Away Asylum Seekers

July 12, 2017

Men, women, and children fleeing persecution, grave violence, and even death arrive daily at Ports of Entry (POE) all along the U.S.-Mexico border and present themselves to U.S. Customs and Border...

  • Blog

Supreme Court Sends a ‘Dangerous Message’ by Not Finding Bush Officials Liable in Post-9/11 Abuse Case

June 21, 2017

A bare majority of the Supreme Court ruled on Monday that six former immigrants of Arab or South Asian descent—all but one of whom are Muslim—cannot sue high-level U.S. officials over policies...

  • Blog

Congress Lowers Hiring Standards for Corruption and Abuse Plagued Border Patrol

June 7, 2017

The House of Representatives passed The Anti-Border Corruption Reauthorization Act  (H.R.2213) on Wednesday evening. The measure—which passed the House by a vote of 282-137, which includes 51 yes...

  • Blog

The Dire State of Immigration Detention in Georgia

June 6, 2017

Recent deaths at immigration detention centers in Georgia have made one fact disturbingly clear: detainees’ rights are being violated, with life and death consequences. These tragedies are not...

  • Blog

By Eliminating the Polygraph Test, Corruption among Border Agencies Could Run Rampant

May 17, 2017

The House and Senate Homeland Security Committees took action this month on two nearly identical bills that seek to fast-track the hiring of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers and Agents...

  • Blog

Spike in Corruption Followed Last Hiring Surge at CBP and ICE

April 25, 2017

When President Trump signed three immigration executive orders in January of this year, much of the attention was focused on the travel ban and border wall. But within those orders is another...

  • Blog

Supreme Court Hears Case on Shooting of Sergio Hernandez by U.S. Border Patrol Agent

February 22, 2017

Officers with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)—the federal agency which includes the Border Patrol—are rarely held accountable for their actions. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the...

  • Blog

The Ongoing Mishandling of Migrants’ Possessions by CBP and ICE

December 21, 2016

Each year, tens of thousands of individuals are deported from the United States to Mexico without their personal belongings—including their identifications, money, and cell phones, among other...

  • Blog

Judge Orders Border Patrol to Immediately Provide Short Term Detainees with Basic Necessities

November 29, 2016

A federal judge ordered the Border Patrol to immediately cease its practice of refusing to provide basic amenities to people detained in Border Patrol holding cells in Tucson, Arizona. The judge...

  • Blog

The Death Toll of Immigration Detention

November 1, 2016

Each year on November 1 and 2, people around the world celebrate the Day of the Dead—sometimes called All Souls Day or Día de los Muertos in Spanish—to remember and honor children and adults who...

  • Blog

The Government Failed to Conduct Background Checks on Staffers at Migrant Child Tent City

November 30, 2018

Thousands of migrant children are currently being held at a tent city in Tornillo, Texas along the U.S.-Mexico border. Most of the children traveled alone in order to flee from violence in their...

  • Blog

Autopsy Report Shows Transgender Immigrant Woman Beaten Before Death in ICE Custody

November 29, 2018

Roxsana Hernández Rodriguez, a 33-year-old transgender woman from Honduras, died in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody in May, weeks after presenting herself at the San Ysidro...

  • Blog

Will the Trump Administration Begin Family Separations Again?

October 22, 2018

The horrifying and tragic legacy of the Trump administration’s family separation policy—which allegedly ended by executive order in June this summer—is far from over. Even with many children still...

  • Blog

New Court Filing Highlights the Government’s Official “Turnback Policy” for Asylum Seekers

October 16, 2018

Eight new asylum seekers joined a lawsuit last week that challenges U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials’ widespread and well-documented practice of turning back asylum seekers at U....

  • Blog

Human Rights Groups Finds More Families Separated Than Originally Reported

October 15, 2018

A new report alleges that the Trump administration (and partially Obama administration) may have separated thousands more families than previously reported and also details how thousands of asylum...

  • Blog

DHS Inspector General Issues Scathing Report on Trump’s Family Separation Policy

October 5, 2018

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued a special report this week revealing its findings following an investigation into the Trump administration’s...

  • Blog

Surprise Government Inspection Finds Nooses in ICE Detention Center, Doctors Refusing to Treat Immigrant Detainees

October 3, 2018

When government officials conducted a surprise inspection of the immigration detention center in Adelanto, California this May, they were met by many signs of serious neglect and abuse, including...

  • Blog

Two Border Patrol Agents Charged with Murder Highlights the Need for Robust Hiring Standards

September 19, 2018

For the second time this year, a Border Patrol agent has been charged with murdering multiple people in Texas. Both agents were hired nearly a decade ago amidst a surge in staffing that backfired...

  • Blog

Medical Neglect and Abuse Reported at Atlanta Immigration Detention Center

August 30, 2018

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) currently uses hundreds of detention centers throughout the country to hold individuals in immigration proceedings. Many of these facilities have a...

  • Blog

Asylum Seekers Challenge Spending Months Locked Up Without Interviews or Bond Hearings

August 24, 2018

Earlier this year, the Trump administration launched its “zero tolerance” policy, aimed at punishing immigrants, including asylum seekers, who enter the United States without authorization. Among...

Most Read

  • Publications
  • Blog Posts
  • Past:
  • Trending