Civilian deaths at the hands of U.S. Border Patrol agents are increasing even though illegal immigration and assaults against agents are down. This was the conclusion of a months-long investigation by nonprofit media organizations into incidents in three border states. Reporters identified at least 14 men and boys who have died since Oct. 1, 2009 after confrontations with Border Patrol agents.
This special report illuminates serious questions about follow up and accountability. It follows a documentary in April by the PBS newsmagazine, Need to Know, which aired a cellphone video of a Mexican man surrounded by border patrol agents, beating and tasing him. Anastasio Hernandez Rojas died later in a hospital. After U.S. lawmakers demanded justice for Hernandez, a grand jury was convened in San Diego this week.
The reporters’ findings come at a time when immigration, always a highly charged topic, has been in the white-hot spotlight this summer.
In June, President Obama stopped deportations of certain high-achieving young people who were brought to the country illegally as children. A few weeks later, the Supreme Court struck down parts of SB 1070, the controversial Arizona law that empowered local law enforcement to uphold federal immigration policy.
inewsource reporters Roxana Popescu and Brad Racino traveled to Arizona the day the ruling was issued. They found that everyone from a county attorney to a rental car employee had strong opinions. Check out their video blogs on this page.
Then earlier this month, California took steps to prevent anything resembling SB 1070 from ever becoming law. The state senate passed a so-called “Anti-Arizona bill,” protecting illegal immigrants from citizenship checks by local law enforcement. Chicago and Washington D.C. are following suit.
Project last updated July 13, 2012
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 1. Day One: The one who lived to tellAt least 14 civilians have died in fatal confrontations with US Customs and Border agents since Oct. 1, 2009 — despite declines in illegal immigration and assaults on officers.READ MORE… |
 Video: Deadly Patrols“They call me the soap opera guy.” |
 2. Deadly Patrols: Challenges to ProsecutionPolitical climate, trust and evidence contribute to lack of accountability involving border deaths at the hands of US Customs and Border Protection agents. |
 Data App: Individual deaths on the borderA collaboration among nonprofit media organizations identified at least 14 men and boys who have died since 2010. Click on their photos for specific information. Some photos were not available. See the app… |
 Video: Behind the Scenes — Prosecutioninewsource reporter Roxana Popescu describes an interview with an Arizona county prosecutor regarding the difficulties in prosecuting law enforcement.See the video… |
 Video: Behind the Scenes — RockingsRoxana Popescu talks about the rise in “rockings” — instances of CBP personnel being assaulted with rocks while apprehending people crossing the border illegally. |
 Video: Behind the Scenes — Nogalesinewsource reporter Roxana Popescu talks about the trip down to Nogales, Mexico, meeting Jesus Castro Romo, and trekking to the Arizona desert. |
The Obama administration is moving to shut down 9 Border Patrol stations across 4 states, triggering a backlash from local law enforcement, members of Congress and BP agents themselves.
The stations are mostly in central and northern TX, and follows Obama’s pattern to weaken enforcement in the interior of Texas – where drug and human smugglers have increased border crossings in the wake of AZ’s crackdown – to make sure illegal aliens can travel inside the country unmolested.
This follows the 75% reduction in National Guard troops on the border in May. The result will be more dead Americans, more gangs and cartel thugs in the U.S., and more job-stealing illegals who send their earnings home. November cannot come soon enough.
[...] Investigative Newsource says: Jul 18, 2012 at 6:40 am [...]
[...] Deadly Patrols « Investigative Newsource says: Jul 19, 2012 at 9:38 am [...]
Tell me why I should give a shit about this story, reported in the most monotone voice, when it revolves around a CRIMINAL?
sidenote: seriously, who put the girl in front of a camera? It’s as if someone left a vacuum on in the corner that only words on tone and inflection.
The next time your son illegally downloads music off of the internet I want a swat team to legally kick your door in and take your son away under federal charges, for the rest of his life. Then we’ll see how much you can care for a “criminal”.
Note: My son asked me to put “son” in the vignette because obviously women mean so little to you that you equate their words to the noise of a vacuum cleaner and your wife and daughter would not effect you.
Obviously the BP is in the business of killing or injurying children by using the lame excuse of them “throwing rocks” : See THE BRUTALITY AND MILITARISM OF U.S. CUSTOMS and BORDER PROTECTION – CBP on my web site.
We reconize BP has a license to kill like 007 without any recourse for the victim.