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‘Unauthorized and Inappropriate’ Content on West Texas Border Patrol Twitter

'Unauthorized and Inappropriate' Content on West Texas Border Patrol Twitter
Twitter logo on phone | Image by Shutterstock

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) deactivated the Twitter account for its West Texas region after it retweeted posts on September 10 criticizing President Joe Biden’s border policies and liked tweets that used vulgar language to refer to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

The account appears to have since been reactivated, but the controversial retweets and likes have been removed.

“U.S. Customs and Border Protection has become aware of unauthorized and inappropriate content that was posted to the @CBPWestTexas Twitter account,” the agency stated. “CBP will take action to deactivate the account and has referred the matter to the Office of Professional Responsibility to investigate.”

“The tweets do not reflect the values of this administration and our work to rebuild a humane, orderly, and secure immigration system,” the statement concluded.

Along with the official statement, CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus tweeted, “Totally unacceptable and disappointing that any CBP Twitter account was used to R/T (retweet) offensive, unauthorized content.”

“We’ve removed the content and deactivated the account,” he said, “The Office of Professional Responsibility will investigate. This must not happen again.”

U.S. Representative Veronica Escobar (D-TX) of El Paso said the person responsible “has absolutely no business being in public service. Especially if allowed to carry a gun and a badge.”

Government social media accounts, generally run by communications employees, are used to promote agency programs and initiatives and tend to avoid making political statements.

The official account retweeted Stephen Miller, former senior advisor for policy to President Trump, saying, “Biden’s eradication of our border means we are no longer a Republic—he’s ended nearly 250 years of constitutional government.”

“Violent criminals lay waste to our communities undisturbed while the immense power of the state is arrayed against those whose crime is dissent,” read another one of the retweets. “The law has been turned from a shield to protect the innocent into a sword to conquer them.”

In addition, the account liked tweets referring to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg as “Pete Buttplug.”

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, policy director of the American Immigration Council, an advocacy group seeking fairness and justice for immigrants, called attention to @CBPWestTexas, saying the actions “will likely lead to disciplinary action.”

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3 Comments

  1. John Weadock

    What was offensive about that? Oh, truth.

    Reply
  2. theporche

    Most people have nicknames.

    Reply
  3. Anna

    Bawahahahaha 😂 “Pete Buttplug” 🤣 OMGosh Bawahahahaha 😂 🤣 😂

    Reply

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