OUT OF BORDER
Customs agents mock detainees & Latino pols in secret chat rooms AOC tours site, rips guards, says women forced to drink from toilets
Racist comments and misogynistic memes allegedly posted by border patrol agents on a secret Facebook forum prompted a federal investigation Monday after a wave of public outrage.
The vile comments, first reported by ProPublica, mocked migrant deaths and called Latina lawmakers “hoes” who deserved a burrito hurled at them during their visits to detention facilities in El Paso and Clint, Texas.
“Today, U.S. Customs and Border Protection was made aware of disturbing social media activity hosted on a private Facebook group that may include a number of [Customs and Border Protection] employees,” agency spokesman Matthew Klein said in a statement.
He said the agency immediately informed the Department of Homeland Security’s office of the inspector general and “initiated an investigation.”
Border agents must refrain from making “abusive, derisive, profane or harassing” statements and avoid any conduct expressing “hatred” or “prejudice” even when they’re off duty, he said.
“This includes comments and posts made on private social media sites,” Klein said.
“These posts are completely inappropriate and contrary to the honor and integrity I see — and expect — from our agents day in and day out. Any employees found to have violated our standards of conduct will be held accountable,” U.S. Border Patrol Chief Carla Provost said in a separate statement.
Rep. Alexandria OcasioCortez (D-Bronx, Queens) condemned the vile posts as a shameful spinoff of the “horrifying” situation she allegedly witnessed during her tours of detention facilities Monday.
In a series of Twitter posts, the freshman congresswoman claimed border officers were “physically (and) sexually threatening” toward her as she visited her first facility and heard migrant women report that they’re told to drink out of toilets, degraded as “whores” and subjected to “psychological warfare.”
Ocasio-Cortez said she witnessed officers “laughing” in front of her delegation and found “no accountability” when she complained to the officers’ superiors.
She butted heads with one officer after he boorishly tried to snap a selfie with her, according to Corbin Trent, a spokesman for the congresswoman who joined her on the tour.
“It did not go over well,” Trent told the Daily News, describing the encounter as a “confrontation.”
Trent declined to quote Ocasio-Cortez directly, but said she told the agent that she “did not appreciate the laughter and the mockery.”
“What we saw on the Facebook forum spilled over to the tour,” Trent said, referring to
the posts published by ProPublica.
The private Facebook group is called “I’m 10-15” and has 9,500 members described as current or former border patrol employees.
In one recent thread, several members took aim at OcasioCortez and Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) for their Monday visits.
One member said any agent “brave enough” to hurl a “burrito at one of these b—ches” should be rewarded with money collected through a GoFundMe fund-raiser, a screen shot obtained by ProPublica said.
Another member, apparently a patrol supervisor, reportedly wrote, “F—k the hoes.”
“There should be no photo ops for these scum buckets,” a third member responded, according to ProPublica.
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus blasted the comments as unacceptable and demanded the offending officers’ dismissals.
“These agents don’t deserve to wear any uniform representing the United States of America,” Rep. Joaquin Castro (DTexas), the caucus leader, said on Twitter.
Other disturbing posts on the secret Facebook group depicted Ocasio-Cortez in photo illustrations involving sex acts, ProPublica revealed.
“Lucky Illegal Immigrant Glory Hole Special Starring AOC,” read text accompanying an image of Ocasio-Cortez engaged in oral sex at an immigrant detention center.
Another appalling illustration showed a smiling President Trump with his hand around Ocasio-Cortez’s neck, forcing her face toward his crotch.
The agent who posted the image commented, “That’s right bitches. The masses have spoken and today democracy won.”
Other posts made light of recent migrant deaths.
In one, a member questioned the veracity of the viral photos from last week showing a migrant dad and his 23month-old daughter floating facedown in the Rio Grande after their desperate attempts to seek asylum in the U.S. ended with their tragic drownings.
The unidentified group member suggested the photo was faked because the victims were so “clean.”
“I HAVE NEVER SEEN FLOATERS LIKE THIS,” the person wrote. “Could this be another edited photo. We’ve all seen the dems and liberal parties do some pretty sick things…”
In yet another exchange, group members made heartless comments about a 16-yearold Guatemalan migrant who died in May while in custody at a border patrol station in Weslaco, Texas, ProPublica reported.
“Oh well,” one member reportedly wrote in a post with an Elmo GIF.
“If he dies, he dies,” another member responded.