Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) last week introduced legislation that calls for enhanced scrutiny of the members of the Border Patrol.
The bill was crafted in concert with Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) taking lead and was signed by Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
The Border Accountability, Oversight, and Community Engagement Act seeks to create a new government bureaucracy to regulate the Border Patrol.
“The persistent lack of accountability and inhumane behavior we have seen from Border Patrol agents in Del Rio and in other incidents across the southern border are unacceptable,” said Sen. Padilla in a statement. “We must hold our federal law enforcement to a higher standard, provide proper oversight of these agencies, and ensure our border communities have a seat at the table. The Border Accountability, Oversight, and Community Engagement Act will help to reform our immigration enforcement practices and take steps to reduce and prevent abuses of power.”
The act specifically will require the compilation of reports that show certain data including unlawful migrant deaths and the ways in which border enforcement agents and infrastructure contributed to the deaths and training programs to implement body-worn cameras and detention practices.
Among the various steps the act promises, it calls for an increase in the number of medical staff and observers at ports of entry but does not aim to increase the number of detention officers or provide any method for streamlining the processing of detained unlawful migrants.
“Right now, the Biden administration has hung the men and women of Border Patrol out to dry in the middle of the worst crisis our nation has seen along the southern border,” said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). “These brave men and women put their lives on the line every day confronting human smugglers and drug traffickers – while being scolded and smeared by the liberal left. Now, rather than admit they’ve lied about our Border Patrol agents, Democrats want to further demonize them to appease their far left-wing base. They should be ashamed.”
The legislation was spawned after images purporting to show Border Patrol agents using whips while on horseback to corral unlawful Haitian migrants who had entered the U.S. went viral.
The images, which actually showed nothing more than agents riding horses with long reins in action, were widely reported to show violence.
“The images of inhumane treatment of Haitian migrants by Border Patrol—including the use of whips—are unacceptable,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) posted on Twitter.
Despite the fact that the claims of agents using whips on unlawful migrants have been demonstrated to be false, Democrats continue to use the images to push forward legislative efforts to overhaul the accountability of the Border Patrol.
The legislation was created after a delegation of civil rights activists, open border supporters, and politicians carried their message to Washington D.C. in late October.
The delegation was headed by U.S. House Representative Veronica Escobar (D-TX) who authored the Homeland Security Improvement Act which calls for similar oversight and accountability measures as the Senate bill.
In a press release issued October 29, the Border Network for Human Rights -in calling for passage of both the Senate and House bills calling for accountability- continues to use the now-discredited images of agents on horseback.
The press release describes the situation as “egregious,” saying that the “widespread rage over images of Border Patrol agents on horseback violently intimidating Black immigrants in Del Rio, Texas.” makes the accountability measures mandatory. x
