HOUSTON, Texas–As U.S. Border Patrol agents are struggling to deal with the humanitarian crisis of unaccompanied minors flooding into South Texas, unsubstantiated allegations of abuse have been published by the national news and entertainment website Buzzfeed.com. The website states in their opening paragraph that the documents they obtained, “do not say if the allegations were substantiated.”
In the BuzzFeed article, Jessica Garrison writes “Documents obtained by BuzzFeed contain allegations that immigration officials physically mistreated or threatened some unaccompanied minors caught crossing the border.” It goes on, in the very next sentence after the incendiary headline and bold-face-type allegations to say in standard font, “The reports do not say if the allegations were substantiated.”
Garrison’s article covers a period from March 2011 to March 2013. These allegations were contained in a series of “Significant Incident Reports” that were made by Health and Human Services (HHS) staff members at shelters under their supervision. A spokesman for HD told BuzzFeed the agency refers such reports to the civil rights section of the Department of Homeland Security.
Breitbart Texas reached out to the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) Vice President Shawn Moran about the allegations made in the BuzzFeed report. “The NBPC does not condone the mistreatment of illegal aliens that are in our custody,” He stated. “CBP has processes in place to investigate such claims of abuse. The vast majority of these allegations turn out to be unfounded or a thinly veiled attempt to delay prosecution.”
Breitbart Texas also reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties for comment on the matter. No response has been received by Breitbart Texas. The BuzzFeed article also states they have not received a response.
The unsubstantiated allegations of abuse come on the heels of Breitbart Texas’ revelation of the abhorrent living conditions of children being housed in over-crowded conditions in shelters in South Texas.
Bob Price is a staff writer and a member of the original Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.