US Border Patrol staff investigated over Facebook group 'containing jokes about dead migrants'

A number of Border Patrol staff are alleged to have been in the group
Mario Tama/Getty Images
Jacob Jarvis2 July 2019

US Border Patrol officers were allegedly among members of a Facebook group where jokes about the deaths of migrants and graphic sexual comments were shared.

The group is being investigated by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which acknowledge it may include some of its employees.

Posts included derogatory comments about migrants who have recently died, while there were also offensive posts regarding Democrat politicians Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Veronica Escobar.

US Border Patrol Chief Carla Provost said: “These posts are completely inappropriate and contrary to the honour and integrity I see – and expect – from our agents day in and day out.

"Any employees found to have violated our standards of conduct will be held accountable.”

There have been a number of concerns raised at the US border
AFP/Getty Images

The private Facebook group is said to contain current and former Border Patrol staff.

According to a screen shot published by ProPublica, the Facebook group had 9,500 members.

Catthew Klein, Assistant Commissioner of CBP's Office of Professional Responsibility, called the social media activity "disturbing".

CBP is investigating the issue
Getty Images

He said it violated the agency's code of conduct and the matter had been referred to the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) inspector general, which has jurisdiction over the CBP.

It comes amid concerns being raised over the conditions migrants are being held in at border stations in the US.

Some in Texas were being kept in "horrifying" conditions that included psychological abuse and being told to drink out of toilets, Ms Ocasio-Cortez said after a visit to a facility with on Monday.

First-term Democratic Congresswoman Ms Ocasio-Cortez, writing on Twitter after leaving the main border patrol station in El Paso, said she had seen women in cells with no water who had been told to drink out of toilets.

"After I forced myself into a cell w/ women & began speaking to them, one of them described their treatment at the hands of officers as "psychological warfare," she wrote.

"This has been horrifying so far."

CBP, which oversees Border Patrol, has not commented on those claims.

Additional reporting by agencies.

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