Border Patrol shot and killed a migrant crossing into Arizona last weekend, the Associated Press reports. It said an autopsy report has revealed that the victim, whose identity has not yet been publicly disclosed, died from multiple gunshot wounds.
What exactly led to the shooting remains unknown because Customs and Border Protection (CBP) “has said nothing about the shooting since an initial tweet reporting that officials were responding to a report of a person being seriously injured,” the report continued.
Borderland advocates said known actions—and inactions—since the shooting underscore “ongoing concerns about the integrity of misconduct investigations at the nation’s largest law enforcement agency.”
“There are multiple red flags in this investigation,” the Southern Border Communities Coalition said Wednesday, noting the Cochise County sheriff’s office didn’t recover the body until the next day.
“The CCSO does not appear to have collected any forensic evidence at all until the next day, including from the agent involved (clothing, fingerprints, ballistics, or any other relevant evidence),” the organization continued. “Instead, they ceded the incident area to border agents who could have tampered with the scene. Moreover, the fact that other migrants (possible witnesses) were taken to a Border Patrol station for ‘interview purposes and further processing,’ raises deep concerns.”
The organization noted Haitian asylum-seekers who were abused at Del Rio, but then quickly deported by immigration officials “without ever having been questioned by independent investigators.”
SBCC also raises concerns about any involvement of Border Patrol Critical Incident Teams (BPCITs), which are shadow units that have for years worked to cover up abuses by border agents.
“The fact that the CBP Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) is reportedly investigating is no solace given that OPR uses BPCITs to collect evidence despite the inherent conflict of interest,” the organization said. “Until OPR ceases to do this, they are compromised.” While a recent CBP memo from Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz and OPR Assistant Commissioner Matthew Klein has purported to rein in BPCITs, it doesn’t change the fact that these corrupt units shouldn’t exist, period.
The shooting death comes as recent reports have also revealed a disturbing increase in the number of people who have been killed as a result of Border Patrol’s high-speed chases. 22 people were killed as a result of these reckless chases in 2021, including one passenger who was ejected from a vehicle on Christmas Day. For comparison, there were two deaths in 2019. Among those killed in 2021 was a 25-year-old man whose family was not notified in any way by Border Patrol.
“Border Patrol has yet again taken the life of another person in our beloved borderlands,” SBCC co-chair and Arizona Justice for Our Neighbors executive director Alba Jaramillo said in response to the shooting death. “Our hearts mourn for the family and loved ones of this person. The secrecy and impunity in which this agency operates is a public safety concern. We demand accountability and transparency. We demand justice for this person's family.”
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