CBP investigating Port of Entry incident
CALEXICO — A video showing what appears to be local Border Patrol agents escorting an individual into Mexicali from Calexico in a manner that reportedly violated established protocols has prompted a federal investigation.
The video, taken March 27, 2017 and recently obtained by NBC News, shows two El Centro Sector agents escorting a handcuffed man, who appears to be injured, into Mexicali against the protests of Mexican immigration officials.
In the six-minute video, the Mexican immigration officials are heard telling the Border Patrol agents they are prohibited from simply depositing the man on the Mexican side of the border and are required to notify the Mexican Consulate in Calexico as part of the repatriation process.
The Mexican officials, in the video, also take offense after discovering that the agents seemingly hadn’t bothered to verify the individual’s identity or citizenship, in violation of established repatriation protocols for Mexican nationals. In response to the video having recently surfaced and been disseminated, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has launched an investigation into the matter, the agency reported.
“(CBP’s) Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), the agency’s independent internal affairs office, has initiated an investigation to determine the facts and circumstances surrounding the March 27, 2017 incident in Calexico,” a statement from the CBP said.
The Border Patrol and the Mexican government have established protocols, known as a “local agreement of repatriation,” that requires fingerprint and verification of individuals repatriated into Mexico.
The agreement is also meant to safeguard vulnerable populations during the repatriation process, said Luis Benjamin Lara, Mexican Consulate in Calexico consul for legal affairs and protection.
Those vulnerable Mexican populations include pregnant women, minors, injured people, the elderly and people with illnesses that may require hospitalization as well as those with mental health issues, Lara said. “The local agreement is to make sure Mexican nationals are repatriated to the country in the safest way possible,” Lara said. “They didn’t follow the protocol.”
The Mexican Consulate in Calexico had previously filed a formal complaint with Border Patrol requesting an investigation after consulate officials were provided the video, Lara said. “They said that they would make sure it wouldn’t happen again and it hasn’t happened again,” Lara said.
Consulate officials were also told that disciplinary action would be taken against the agents involved, Lara said.
The individual in the video had eventually returned to Calexico after being prevented from entering Mexicali by Mexican immigration officials on the day in question.
He was ultimately apprehended by Border Patrol three weeks after the March 27, 2017 incident and processed for removal in accordance with protocols, Lara said.
During the repatriation process is was determined that the individual had been arrested and deported multiple times from the United States and that he had behavioral health issues, Lara said.
Immigrants in the country illegally that are not Mexican nationals are deported back to their home countries by plane.
“CBP is committed to treating everyone with professionalism, dignity and respect while enforcing the laws of the United States,” the agency stated. “CBP takes all allegations of misconduct seriously, and does not tolerate actions that are inconsistent with our core values of Vigilance, Service to Country and Integrity.”