© Ross D. Franklin/AP/File
Border Patrol agents patrol the border fence, in Naco, Arizona
A new study is adding to long-standing concerns that the Border Patrol is subject to inadequate oversight, with border-crossers claiming mistreatment and abuse at the hands of agents.
The issue has grown in importance as the Border Patrol itself has more than doubled in size during the past decade to more than 21,000 agents. The Border Patrol recorded 1.67 million apprehensions on the Southwest border form 2009 to 2012. With border enforcement central to immigration reform proposals in Washington, the Border Patrol's footprint could grow even further.
About 1 in 10 migrants detained for crossing the border illegally reported some form of physical abuse - such as hitting, kicking, and pushing - at the hands of border agents, according to the study, released this week by the Immigration Policy Center, a liberal think tank in Washington.
And about 1 in 4 reported that while in custody they were yelled at, threatened, or verbally abused, some with nationalistic or ethnic slurs.
"This is an agency that has almost total impunity in many, many areas," says David Shirk, a border expert and political scientist at the University of San Diego who was not involved in the study. "We need the Border Patrol to take criticisms, to respond thoughtfully and seriously to these kinds of questions and allegations."
Under current practices, if an agent is reported for bad conduct, he says, "It all stays within the agency, and it is not subject to outside scrutiny."
For its part, the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Customs and Border Enforcement, which includes the Border Patrol, did not respond directly to the study, but released a statement saying it takes seriously the safety of detainees as well as complaints against its employees.
