70 border agents subjects of agency’s investigation
WASHINGTON — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said Monday that 62 current and eight former Border Patrol employees are under internal investigation following revelations of a secret Facebook group that mocked lawmakers and migrants.
Most are under investigation for posts that surfaced in a secret group called “I’m 1015,” where messages questioned the authenticity of images of a migrant father and child dead on the banks of the Rio Grande and depicted crude, doctored images of U.S. Rep. Alexandria OcasioCortez, DN.Y., purporting to perform a sex act on President Trump.
There were posts in at least one other closed group under investigation, he said.
“Messages posted on a private page that are discriminatory or harassing are not protected and violate standards of conduct,” said Matthew Klein, assistant commissioner of the agency’s Office of Professional Responsibility.
Klein said his agency referred the case to the Homeland Security Department’s watchdog agency, which declined to investigate and sent the case back to Customs and Border Protection. He said they are now focused on factfinding and would identify criminal behavior if there was any, but it was not considered a criminal probe.
ProPublica first posted details of the Facebook group, which boasts 9,500 members, just as OcasioCortez and other Democrats were headed to tour border facilities.
Some were graphic, doctored images of OcasioCortez, including one that shows a smiling President Trump forcing her head toward his crotch, according to screenshots obtained by ProPublica. Other comments refer to OcasioCortez and fellow Democratic Rep. Veronica Escobar of Texas as “hoes,” and one member encouraged agents to throw a “burrito at these bitches.”
A news story about a 16yearold Guatemalan migrant who died in Border Patrol custody in May elicited a response from one member, “If he dies, he dies.” Another member posted a GIF of the “Sesame Street” character Elmo with the quote “Oh well.”
The posts threatened to tarnish the Border Patrol’s image at one of the most challenging times in its 95year history. Border Patrol Chief Carla Provost said the posts were unacceptable.
“These posts are completely inappropriate and contrary to the honor and integrity I see — and expect — from our agents day in and day out,” Provost said in a statement at the time. “Any employees found to have violated our standards of conduct will be held accountable.”
News reports have since surfaced that she may have also been a member at one point, though there is no indication she knew about the inflammatory posts.
Officials on Monday would not say whether those under investigation included Provost or other top brass, but said they were working through the level of responsibility someone has in the group.
Not reporting misconduct is also considered misconduct, Klein said, and they were working to determine who was active on the page, who knew about the posts, and who were just bystander members of the group.