Agents may be the law, but are not above it
Yuma Sector allegations deserve to be investigated, reported
On Wednesday, the Yuma Sun newsroom received a handful of calls and emails from readers wanting to know: Where was our coverage of the allegations on NBC News against Yuma Sector Border Patrol?
NBC News obtained accounts by children who had been held in Arizona, alleging poor treatment including sexual assault and retribution for protesting housing conditions. The accounts were collected by government case workers, and NBC News gained access to those accounts.
NBC News broke the story Tuesday night, and our newsroom was aware of it by 6 p.m. Tuesday.
We immediately reached out to the Yuma Sector Border Patrol, and were referred to the national headquarters in Washington, which did not return our calls Tuesday night.
NBC News’ Rachel Maddow noted their story developed from a viewer tip, received on her show.
As a result of that tip, NBC News said nearly 30 accounts were obtained from “significant incident reports” collected from April 10-June 12 by case managers for the Department of Health and Human Services, based on interviews with juveniles who were detained and held in the Yuma Sector facilities.
The Yuma Sun spent Tuesday night and all day Wednesday trying to confirm the allegations, reaching out to federal agencies both locally and in Washington, D.C. Many of our calls and emails were not returned. The Sun team also filed Freedom of Information Act requests in an effort to confirm the information, and we are awaiting those documents.
In the meantime, on A1 today, we reported on the NBC News report, and indicated our efforts to confirm this information.
The allegations are disturbing. If true, how could the Border Patrol allow those agents to serve in any capacity? And in the case of the alleged sexual assault — shouldn’t that be treated as any other sexual assault, with a criminal investigation? Homeland Security and Border Patrol may be the law — but they aren’t above the law. And as law enforcement officers, their behavior on the job should be held to the highest of standards.
It’s also important to note that federal agencies are funded through federal dollars — taxpayer dollars. When there are allegations of misconduct, that information should not be swept under the rug or ignored. Federal agencies — including Homeland Security and the Border Patrol — have a responsibility to inform the public.
It’s no different than a police officer or a teacher who commits a crime.
But as in any other case, the accused party also deserves a fair investigation, and, if necessary, a trial.
We never want to see Yuma making headlines for negative news, and it’s hard to see the Yuma Sector in this situation. But our federal agencies have a responsibility to be forthcoming with information, and keep the public apprised of the situation.
Federal agencies, just like any other taxpayer funded agency, need to be transparent.