2015Dec2016Jan_digital_FINAL

Texas Observer: corruption,
insufficient oversight at CBP
Continued from page 15
36
Trump’s Muslim immigration
policy
Continued from page 14
Finally, putting the history lesson
and legal questions aside, is this truly
the path the U.S. public would want
to see the country take? A public that,
by and large, prides itself on being a
nation of immigrants, built on diversity,
religious tolerance, and equality?
Rabbi Jack Moline, executive director
of Interfaith Alliance, articulated
what is most likely on the minds of
millions of Americans as they consider
Trump’s latest proposal, “Rooting
our nation’s immigration policy in
religious bigotry and discrimination
will not make America great again.”
Trump’s latest immigration policy
proposal is nothing more than political
showmanship that harkens back
to some of the darker days in our nation’s
history and feeds the fear mongers
among us. How can anyone believe
this is the way to move a country
forward?
See more at: http://immigrationimpact.com/2015/12/08/
trumps-muslim-immigration-policy-unconstitutional-and-unworthyof-america/#sthash.VuPsV3r1.dpuf
der for money.”
But, while such anecdotes of corruption
abound, “Homeland Security
officials have no way to gauge
how extensive the problem is within
its ranks.” In a 2014 report, a Homeland
Security advisory panel of lawenforcement
officials concluded that
“the true levels of corruption within
CBP are not known.” According to
the Texas Observer, this state of affairs
has existed since the creation of
DHS, which “gave rise to a complex
web of internal affairs bodies, with
overlapping jurisdictions, conflicting
interests and chronic funding shortages.”
In fact, within DHS:
“Each agency has its own protocols,
case numbers and filing systems, its
own sense of institutional pride, and
its own acronyms. The FBI, DHS OIG
[DHS Office of the Inspector General],
ICE OPR (Immigration and Customs
Enforcement Office of Public
Responsibility) and CBP IA [CBP Internal
Affairs] all run their own competing
investigations—even though,
with the exception of the FBI, they’re
all part of the Department of Homeland
Security.”
Yet, somehow, CBP “was left without
its own internal affairs investigators,”
despite being the largest lawenforcement
agency in the country.
Rather, CBP is supposed to be policed
by DHS OIG, which has around 200
investigators who are supposed to
monitor more than 220,000 people.
In comparison, “the FBI has 250 internal
affairs investigators for its
13,000 agents.” With so few investigators
keeping track of so many CBP
personnel, it is no wonder that corruption
appears to be flourishing on
the border.
It’s important to remember that
the lack of accountability which fosters
corruption also creates an atmosphere
of impunity surrounding the
use—and abuse—of power, including
the use of deadly force. According
to an October 2015 Los Angeles
Times investigation, from 2010 to
2013, Border Patrol agents fired their
Tasers 70 times “at people who were
running away, even though there was
no struggle or clear indication that
agents were in danger.” In six instances,
agents used Tasers against “people
who were trying to climb over the
border fence back into Mexico.” Three
people died after being hit by Taser
fire. Two people were shocked while
handcuffed.
Not surprisingly given the lack of
oversight and accountability, Border
Patrol agents are rarely called to account
for their actions. According to
the American Immigration Council,
among the 485 abuse complaints
made against the agency between January
2009 and January 2012 in which
a formal decision was made, “No Action
Taken” represented 97 percent
of all outcomes. Whether or not this
degree of lax oversight also applies
to instances of corruption is not yet
known.
Ultimately, weeding out corruption
(and abuse) from DHS as a whole and
CBP in particular is a responsibility
that rests with Congress. Unfortunately,
jurisdiction of DHS has been
divvied up among “at least 120 congressional
committees, subcommittees
and task forces.” With Congressional
oversight as disjointed as DHS
itself, it is a safe bet that reform will
not come easy.
See more at: http://immigrationimpact.
com/2015/12/10/corruption-flourishes-within-cbp/#sthash.6sf0UcZ8.dpuf