The institutional cruelty of migrant shakedowns
John Washington, Al Jazeera, January 14, 2015
On Jan. 31, the U.S. Border Patrol detained a migrant named Alejandro in the Arizona desert and stripped him of his belongings: $226.24 in cash, his cellphone, his ID and his only change of clothes. After 60 days in jail, he was put on a bus headed across the border. It was 3 a.m. Continue reading Al Jazeera: “The institutional cruelty of migrant shakedowns”
Editorial: A disturbing trend in border patrol
Arizona Republic, December 15, 2014
Honoring the inherent rights of individuals is part of our national DNA. It is what we are all about.
But a report from a human-rights group offers more evidence that this deep commitment runs a bit shallow near the US–Mexico border. Continue reading Arizona Republic, editorial
Report: US often keeping deportees’ money, IDs
USA Today, Bob Ortega, December 10, 2014
PHOENIX — US authorities often needlessly endanger deportees by sending them back across the border into Mexico without returning their money, IDs, cell phones, medicine and other belongings, a human-rights groups charges in a report released Wednesday. Continue reading USA Today: “Report: US often keeping deportees’ money, IDs”
Some deportees return to Mexico but their stuff stays in the US
NPR, All Things Considered, Ted Robbins, December 10, 2014
Derek Lucas Reyes, 20, went from being undocumented in the US to undocumented in his native Mexico. Continue reading NPR: “Some deportees return to Mexico but their stuff stays in the US”
No More Deaths helps immigrants survive treacherous desert journey to US
Deutsche Welle (Germany), November 1, 2014
Somewhere on the border. For just short of an hour Dan Wilson has dragged himself and a rucksack full of supplies through the barren, scorching plain. Continue reading Deutsche Welle (Germany): “No More Deaths helps immigrants survive treacherous desert journey to US”
For deportees, a struggle to get cash from checks
Nogales International, Curt Prendergast, August 19, 2014
Javier Gutierrez wasn’t smiling as he sat down at a table inside the Kino Border Initiative’s dining hall on Wednesday morning. Continue reading Nogales International: “For deportees, a struggle to get cash from checks”
The muckraker and the border patrol
The Good Fight with Ben Winkler, April 10, 2014
Everyone working at the border crossing knew that it was happening: brutal violence and abuses by border patrol agents. Sometimes even lethally. But the US Customs and Border Protection wasn’t talking, and politicians seemed more concerned with increasing its size and military power than in holding it accountable.
Continue reading The Good Fight with Ben Winkler: “The muckraker and the border patrol”
Group claims Border Patrol stole blankets, food meant for migrants
KVOA News 4 Tucson, Nathan O’Neal, January 17, 2013
A humanitarian group that provides aid and supplies to illegal migrants crossing the desert claims they caught a Border Patrol agent stealing blankets and food from one of their drop sites in Southern Arizona via a hidden camera. Continue reading KVOA News 4 Tucson: “Group claims Border Patrol stole blankets, food meant for migrants”
Crossing the line, part 2
PBS, Brian Epstein, July 20, 2012
Need to Know continues its investigation into alleged abuses by US Border Patrol agents and officers on American soil. Correspondent John Larson investigates stories of physical abuse, sexual assault, and even torture. Continue reading PBS: “Crossing the Line,” part 2
Deportation after dark
CNN, Traci Tamura, April 6, 2012
Recently, I traveled to Nogales, Mexico, to work on a CNN story with reporter Thelma Gutierrez and Senior Photojournalist Gregg Canes, about what happens to undocumented immigrants who are deported from the United States back to Mexico at all hours of the night. We spent a couple of nights on the border to meet some of the recent deportees. Continue reading CNN: “Deportation after dark”