Customs and Border Protection canceled its very terrible idea to hold a “crowd control exercise” on Election Day in El Paso, Texas, without offering any sort of official explanation so far. But it’s fair to say that local and national blowback to the agency parading their agents in a heavily-Latino area had something to do with it. Now, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) wants answers from the Department of Justice (DOJ).
“The Trump Administration must answer for its decision to plan a military-style exercise—coupled with armored vehicles and Border Patrol agents within a short walking distance from the nearest polling location,” Andre Segura, legal director of the ACLU of Texas, said in a letter demanding the DOJ investigate potential Voting Rights Act violation by Border Patrol. “The right to vote is fundamental and must be protected. The first step in doing so is through transparency as to why these intimidating actions were planned on Election Day and their ultimate impact on voters.”
State and elected leaders, along with groups like the ACLU, slammed the planned exercise, which was, again, announced the day before the election without any explanation as to why it was being held on the day of the election. “At best, it’s a bad decision to have this at that particular area on Election Day,” said Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar. “Couldn’t they wait until the day after the election? I’m not going to question the motives, but I am going to question the timing.”
Oh, it’s absolutely valid to question the motives. Border Patrol lies and distorts, and about very serious matters. Border Patrol arrests people in distress, Border Patrol stalks people, and Border Patrol has gone out of its way to arrest people. So when this same agency announced the planned exercise during an election where Latino voters were highly enthused, it’s absolutely valid to question the motives—and with Democrats soon to take the reins of power in the House, it’s an opportunity to begin holding immigration agencies accountable for abuses.
“Voter intimidation has no place in our elections and is illegal,” said Sophia Lin Lakin of the ACLU Voting Rights Project. “Yet the Border Patrol was planning to proceed with this intimidating crowd control exercise for no good reason on Election Day. We are asking that the DOJ investigate that decision, particularly in light of President Trump’s menacing tweet yesterday calling for law enforcement to aggressively monitor supposed concerns about mythical illegal voting.”