Border Patrol agents reportedly mock migrant deaths in private Facebook group
Several posts in a secret Facebook group provide a troubling behind-the-scenes glimpse into the lives of Border Patrol agents, ProPublica reports.
The group, called "I'm 10-15," is meant to serve as a forum for "funny" and "serious" discussion about work with the patrol for roughly 9,500 former and current agents. But ProPublica received images of several recent inappropriate discussions on the page.
The content includes one member encouraging agents to throw a burrito at Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) during their planned visit to a border facility near El Paso, conspiracy theories about the drowning of a father and daughter who were trying to enter the United States, jokes about deceased migrants, and a vulgar illustration depicting Ocasio-Cortez engaged in oral sex with a detained migrant.
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Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), the head of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, was reportedly angered by the Facebook discussions. "It confirms some of the worst criticisms of Customs and Border Protection," Castro said. "These are clearly agents who are desensitized to the point of being dangerous to migrants and their co-workers." Read more at ProPublica.
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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
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