United States: NGO condemns more than 160 cases of abuse and abuse of migrants

Human Rights Watch (HRW) organization condemned that Between 2016 and 2021, more than 160 cases of misconduct and abuse of asylum seekers were filed for Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials., mostly fixed to the limits.

HRW obtained an internal report from DHS, the agency in charge of the immigration system and border security through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), on September 24, according to a report released today.

The cases point specifically to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Border Patrol officers, and are consistent with internal reports on complaints received in English by asylum officers from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

As per HRW, lThe charges are consistent with “assault, sexual abuse, violation of due process, denial of medical care, harsh detention conditions and borderline inhuman treatment”..

In the examples collected by HRW, it is mentioned that in 2017 a Border Patrol agent hit a woman with her knee in the lower part of the pelvis, causing her several days of bruising and pain.

The affected woman described what happened to an officer investigating her request for asylum.

Also that year and in a separate incident, HRW said, a CBP officer forced a girl to undress and then touched her inappropriately.

Another case, in 2018, involved an officer of the same agency who beat up an asylum seeker with such force that he fainted and developed brain swelling.

HRW said it submitted a summary of 11 cases of abuse to DHS on September 28, including “a report requesting information on what investigations or disciplinary action, if any, resulted in the complaints.” It also gave additional details on October 12.

At the time the document was published, HRW said, “DHS had not responded to any of the requests.”

But in a statement sent to The New York Times on the subject, DHS spokeswoman Marsha Espinosa indicated that the department “does not tolerate abuse or misconduct of any kind.”

The spokesman indicated that under the leadership of the Secretary of National Security, Alejandro Meyercas, that unit is conducting an internal review on the use of force and “to recognize and eliminate intolerable prejudices and improve its policies and training”.

For its part, HRW recommended that DHS investigate documented allegations of misconduct and abuse and review the disciplinary, complaints and oversight mechanisms.

He called on US President Joe Biden’s government to use “all the resources” of the federal government to ensure accountability in border operations, and even called on a separate agency, such as the Justice Department, to investigate immigrant rights violations. also called for the appointment. Limit.

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