ProPublica report finds Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and migrants targeted in racist, lewd posts on secret CBP agent Facebook group
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
The posts on the private group, which says it is for current and former Border Patrol agents, included caustic remarks about the deaths of migrants, sexually explicit images edited to include Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and xenophobic asides and comments,
Federal officials are investigating whether agents participated in a private Facebook group for Border Patrol employees that hosted racist, sexist and sexually violent memes about immigrants and officials such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez after a report by the investigative site ProPublica.
Matthew Klein, an assistant commissioner at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, called the Facebook group’s posts “disturbing” and said that the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security, of which CBP is a part, began an investigation.
The posts on the private group, which says it is for current and former Border Patrol agents, included caustic remarks about the deaths of migrants, sexually explicit images edited to include Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and xenophobic asides and comments, according to ProPublica . The Washington Post was not able to confirm the existence of the group, called “I’m 10-15,” after the law enforcement code for “aliens in custody.” The private group is not visible to people who aren’t members.
Some of the memes shared on the group’s page that ProPublica reported on include a photo illustration that depicts Ocasio-Cortez being forced to give oral sex to President Trump.
Another depicted her giving oral sex at a detention center for immigrants, ProPublica reported.
On a post about a 16-year-old migrant who died in Border Patrol custody, group members responded with crass comments like “Oh well,” and “If he dies, he dies.”
One commenter talked about starting a fundraising site to support a Border Patrol agent to throw burritos at Ocasio-Cortez and another lawmaker, Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Tex.), who were part of a Democratic delegation that visited immigration facilities and detention centers in Texas on Monday.
The report drew wide criticism of the Border Patrol, a central component of the Trump administration’s aggressive attempts to stanch the flow of migrants on the U.S.-Mexico border, from Democratic lawmakers, including presidential primary candidates such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and New York mayor Bill de Blasio.
The Facebook group confirmed “some of the worst criticism of Customs and Border Protection,” Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Tex.) told ProPublica.
“How on earth can CBP’s culture be trusted to care for refugees humanely?” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter.
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A screenshot from the Facebook group, run with this text: “That's right bitches. The masses have spoken and today democracy won. I have returned. To everyone who knows the real me and had my back I say thank you. To everyone else? This is what I have to say.....”
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I think what we see here is the same thing that is sometimes seen in police departments around the country. People like this believe they are above the law and above accountability.
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Inside the Secret Border Patrol Facebook Group Where Agents Joke About Migrant Deaths and Post Sexist Memes — ProPublica
ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up for ProPublica’s Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox as soon as they are published.
Members of a secret Facebook group for current and former Border Patrol agents joked about the deaths of migrants, discussed throwing burritos at Latino members of Congress visiting a detention facility in Texas on Monday and posted a vulgar illustration depicting Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez engaged in oral sex with a detained migrant, according to screenshots of their postings.
In one exchange, group members responded with indifference and wisecracks to the post of a news story about a 16-year-old Guatemalan migrant who died in May while in custody at a Border Patrol station in Weslaco, Texas. One member posted a GIF of Elmo with the quote, “Oh well.” Another responded with an image and the words “If he dies, he dies.”
Created in August 2016, the Facebook group is called “I’m 10-15” and boasts roughly 9,500 members from across the country. (10-15 is Border Patrol code for “aliens in custody.”) The group described itself, in an online introduction, as a forum for “funny” and “serious” discussion about work with the patrol. “Remember you are never alone in this family,” the introduction said.
[ deleted ] A screenshot from the Facebook group, run with this text: “That's right bitches. The masses have spoken and today democracy won. I have returned. To everyone who knows the real me and had my back I say thank you. To everyone else? This is what I have to say.....”Responsible for policing the nation’s southern and northern boundaries, the Border Patrol has come under intense scrutiny as the Trump administration takes new, more aggressive measures to halt the influx of undocumented migrants across the United States-Mexico border. The patrol’s approximately 20,000 agents serve under the broader U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency, which has been faulted for allegedly mistreating children and adults in its custody. The agency’s leadership has been in turmoil, with its most recent acting chief, John Sanders, resigning last week.
ProPublica received images of several recent discussions in the 10-15 Facebook group and was able to link the participants in those online conversations to apparently legitimate Facebook profiles belonging to Border Patrol agents, including a supervisor based in El Paso, Texas, and an agent in Eagle Pass, Texas. ProPublica has so far been unable to reach the group members who made the postings.
ProPublica contacted three spokespeople for CBP in regard to the Facebook group and provided the names of three agents who appear to have participated in the online chats. CBP hasn’t yet responded.
“These comments and memes are extremely troubling,” said Daniel Martinez, a sociologist at the University of Arizona in Tucson who studies the border. “They’re clearly xenophobic and sexist.”
The postings, in his view, reflect what “seems to be a pervasive culture of cruelty aimed at immigrants within CBP. This isn’t just a few rogue agents or ‘bad apples.’”
The Border Patrol Facebook group is the most recent example of some law enforcement personnel behaving badly in public and private digital spaces. An investigation by Reveal uncovered hundreds of active-duty and retired law enforcement officers who moved in extremist Facebook circles, including white supremacist and anti-government groups. A team of researchers calling themselves the Plain View Project recently released a hefty database of offensive Facebook posts made by current and ex-law enforcement officers.
And in early 2018, federal investigators found a raft of disturbing and racist text messages sent by Border Patrol agents in southern Arizona after searching the phone of Matthew Bowen, an agent charged with running down a Guatemalan migrant with a Ford F-150 pickup truck. The texts, which were revealed in a court filing in federal court in Tucson, described migrants as “guats,” “wild ass shitbags,” “beaners” and “subhuman.” The messages included repeated discussions about burning the migrants up.
Several of the postings reviewed by ProPublica refer to the planned visit by members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, including Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Veronica Escobar, to a troubled Border Patrol facility outside of El Paso. Agents at the compound in Clint, Texas, have been accused of holding children in neglectful, inhumane conditions.
Members of the Border Patrol Facebook group were not enthused about the tour, noting that Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from Queens, had compared Border Patrol facilities to Nazi concentration camps. Escobar is a freshman Democrat representing El Paso.
One member encouraged Border Patrol agents to hurl a “burrito at these bitches.” Another, apparently a patrol supervisor, wrote, “Fuck the hoes.” “There should be no photo ops for these scum buckets,” posted a third member.
Perhaps the most disturbing posts target Ocasio-Cortez. One includes a photo illustration of her engaged in oral sex at an immigrant detention center. Text accompanying the image reads, “Lucky Illegal Immigrant Glory Hole Special Starring AOC.”
Another is a photo illustration of a smiling President Donald Trump forcing Ocasio-Cortez’s head toward his crotch. The agent who posted the image commented: “That’s right bitches. The masses have spoken and today democracy won.”
The posts about Escobar and Ocasio-Cortez are “vile and sexist,” said a staffer for Escobar. “Furthermore, the comments made by Border Patrol agents towards immigrants, especially those that have lost their lives, are disgusting and show a complete disregard for human life and dignity.”
The head of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Joaquin Castro, reviewed the Facebook discussions and was incensed. “It confirms some of the worst criticisms of Customs and Border Protection,” said Castro, a Democrat who represents San Antonio. “These are clearly agents who are desensitized to the point of being dangerous to migrants and their co-workers.” He added that the agents who made the vulgar comments “don’t deserve to wear any uniform representing the United States of America.”
Vicki Gaubeca, director of the Southern Border Communities Coalition, said the postings are more evidence of the sexism and misogyny that has long plagued the Border Patrol. “That’s why they’re the worst at recruiting women,” said Gaubeca, whose group works to reform the agency. “They have the lowest percentage of female agents or officers of any federal law enforcement agency.”
In another thread, a group member posted a photo of father and his 23-month-old daughter lying face down in the Rio Grande. The pair drowned while trying to ford the river and cross into the U.S.; pictures of the two have circulated widely online in recent days, generating an outcry.
The member asked if the photo could have been faked because the bodies were so “clean.” (The picture was taken by an Associated Press photographer, and there is no indication that it was staged or manipulated.) “I HAVE NEVER SEEN FLOATERS LIKE THIS,” the person wrote, adding, “could this be another edited photo. We’ve all seen the dems and liberal parties do some pretty sick things…
Really fucking sick.
There needs to be a purge at the agency.
I think we are going to hear a lot more about how the migrants are being treated down there. Congress is going to get involved and there may be hearings on this agency in the House.
A group of congresspeople was down there at one of the facilities today and didnt have many good things to say about the experience.
One of the congresswoman said they saw a "cell" that was designed for 30 people and it had 120+ living in it.
Obama had 130 people living in a cell designed for 30 people? Find a reputable link.
You are in for a very long wait.
Silence will ensue...
So you are for open borders now? Figures.
Pretty sure that this has been addressed but I think it's policy to address people by their screen names. [Deleted]
removed for context
You are correct, facts do matter. No denying what you've stated.
As one who voted for Obama, never applauded his cages (chain link fencing inside McAllen center), deportation, fast and furious, multiple foreign policy decisions, etc. He had my vote, never my undying loyalty or the partisan bullshit that's evident in America's politics today.
Let's do:
Like reading? Read this:
So shall we do some math now? Let's just assume that Trump only lasts until 2020.
If he deport as many as Obama did in 2012
409,849 X $10,854 = 4,448,501,046
That's with a B .
Would you like to do the math on 11 million BF?
Attempted to update my comment to no avail☹
....cages (chain link fencing installed in the McAllen detention center)
Yet he didn't provide John with the link he asked for did he?
No he did not...thinking it's nonexistent 😉
McAllen is a 'processing center' so minors are supposed to be moved out of there within 72 hours. Some end up staying MUCH longer.
The Inspector General reported was in part about the El Paso, Del Norte processing center which has cells:
Correct, McAllen is a processing center. I used detention as it truly reflects what is happening at the center.
The ineptitude is gut wrenching. These are PEOPLE! We treat stray, sick, hungry animals better than what I'm seeing on our border.
Should this be on Meta?
Propublica
October 23, 2016
What on earth are you talking about?
Does this site move right center bias articles to meta? No.
You obviously have no clue what Meta is for...
"But...............But...............But................OBAMA!!!!!" I can hear it now. Why don't these stupid fuckers just say, "Yea, trump is as bad as the person I hate, but I am too fucking dumb to admit it!!!"
From, "Obama endorsed open borders", to, "Obama was a monster for deporting people", in one article. Gotta love it. The right isn't sure which way to go on this one.. Maybe they should go to fox fake news to get their talking points.
Amazing isn't it. Totally disgusting what these people are posting and doing yet somehow...Obama!
And not one word on what is happening.
I found it curious that you endorsed the comment at.. 3.1.3.
I mean hey, I always like your comments, but that struck me as odd.
I didn't. ??
Well shit, wrong person... Please accept my profound apologies... LOL
HA, I was going to say...
No problem though.
You're the best man...LOL
I did, by accident, probably looking to see who had voted it up to begin with. It is undone now...
I did that before. Was looking to see who voted and hit the upvote instead. I hit it again and it took it away. I didn't know we could do that.
It happens, I have done it myself. My apologies.
So let's apply the lefts' standards used to defend the FBI agents that had conspiracy emails about fixing the election and removing Trump from office going back and forth on government computers. (Strzok & Page being two of them if you need a reminder)
How about we purge any federal employees that post vile things about Trump or Melania on any social media site; or have any doctored porn pictures of any Republican? Shouldn't be too hard to find given the pictures floating around of Melania; the left's absolute hatred of Trump; and Flint's Sarah Palin porno knockoff.
Sounds damn stupid. They were dumb enough to post this crap on a social media site; then they are too stupid to hold a federal government job. So how many agents are we talking about? From the way people talking it must be enough to cripple the BP; or maybe that is just their wishful thinking. Of course AOC, Escobar, and the Dems are using this to try and paint the who DHS and BP as being racist sexist pigs. "Never let a good crisis go to waste", right?
So your premise is to deflect then deny?
Are you saying that it is fake news?
The posts are there, the FB group is there yet you cannot face the music....
It has happened and is happening. To deny and try to call it anything other than it is, is sick really.
Shame....
No, showing how stupid the left is. With their double standards when two FBI agents were fired for emails about preventing Trump from becoming President, and then wanting him removed after he won. They were on investigations for both Hillary and Trump; but left insisted their political beliefs didn't influence their work.
Wow, can't read can you. Find one place that I called this fake news. I did state it was faux outrage by the left.
Seems you completely missed this part of my post.
So reread what I posted. The Faux outrage from the left over this is hilarious. If the posts and cartoons were about Trump and Republicans the left would be eating it up; and supporting the assholes. I also find it funny that AOC and Escobar are two of the most anti BP Democrats out there; which is saying a ton. Of course neither stop to think that by constantly demonizing DHS, ICE, and the BP they are making enemies.
The only shame is these individuals will be held up by the left as examples of the entire DHS/BP; and they will those that had nothing to do with the FB group will be demonized.
Deflection is thy name. Why else keep bringing up unrelated things...
The shame is a group with over 9k members when the whole of border patrol is only over 20k.
Almost half. So yes I will call out, not demonize, bad behavior.
Sad you can't do the same.
Do you feel the same way about Strzok and Page?
Ah, mans inhumanity to man ( or woman and children ) it seemingly knows no bounds.
Are we not supposed to be a shinning example to the world (freely flowing sarcasm ) ?