US border agents engaged in 'shocking abuses' of asylum-seekers, alleges HRW report

The latest report by Human Rights Watch recently alleged that the US border agents engaged in sexual and physical abuse of asylum seekers at the southern border. According to the papers, the rights group reviewed more than 160 cases of misconduct and abuse by leading government agencies, notably Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and US Border Patrol. They looked into events between 2016 and 2021 that range from child sexual assault to enforced hunger, threats of rape and brutal detention conditions. They also noted that some of the incidents involve alleged criminal activity by federal agents. 

The Human Rights Watch alleged that the documents “paint a picture of DHS as an agency that appears to have normalized shocking abuses at the US border. The US should take urgent and sustained action to stop such abuses by transforming migrant border reception and DHS accountability practices, including ensuring redress for migrants and asylum seekers who have been harmed.”

In its report, Human Rights Watch cited a case of alleged child sexual abuse reported by a supervisor in the San Francisco asylum office. It said that an asylum officer interviewed a young child who was sexually molested by someone the rights group believe to be a CBP or Border Patrol Officer. “The young girl was forced to undress and touched inappropriately by a guard wearing green,” the report read. In another case, the rights group mentioned an incident in 2018 when a male asylum seeker was detained and taken to a detention centre in San Ysidro, California. An officer told the man that “if he gave him sex, he would be set free”. When the detainee refused, the “officer swore to him in English and said that he would be locked up as punishment”. 

'Alarming' evidence of misconduct

According to the documents, the Human Rights Watch said that the records it obtained do not show whether any of the reports of abuse were investigated or if any disciplinary action was taken. The records revealed that US Citizenship and Immigration Services employees were confused about the proper reporting procedures and asylum officers received reports with “alarming” evidence of misconduct. 

It is to mention that accusations of misconduct and mistreatment by federal agents toward migrants and asylum-seekers have long been documented at detention centres, according to The Guardian. Concerns about the inappropriate behaviour by officers at the border also made international headlines in September when Border Patrol agents on horseback were photographed violently pushing back Haitian migrants. In its report, Human Rights Watch point to numerous ways in which asylum seekers appear to have had their right to due process violated.  

“This should include investigations by Congress and other federal agencies, DHS reviews of its accountability and discipline practices, and the institution of more robust oversight and transparency policies,” the rights group said. 

Image: AP