SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — On a day when the Border Patrol celebrated its 100 years of service, Southern Border Communities Coalition members held a news conference to criticize the agency.
The Coalition’s Director, Lilian Serrano, spoke about the need for more agency oversight, focusing specifically on Customs and Border Protection’s data.
"Last year alone, over a thousand incidents of use of force, once again the victims are people of color, their crime being in their border region," Serrano said.
One of those incidents involves Anastasio Hernandez Rojas. He was at the San Ysidro Port of Entry when authorities say he became violent with Border Patrol Agents.
In the end, Rojas was tased and died from his injuries. The family reached a settlement in their civil lawsuit, and none of the agents involved were ever charged.
Rojas’ wife, Maria Puga, attended Tuesday’s news conference and, through a translator, shaped her mission to fight for the changes she believes are right.
“I hope for the stop to the abuse for the brutality," Puga said. "I hope for the changes. For me, it's important that the government knows that I'm here. That with my head up looking straight forward, still seeking justice.”
Rojas’ case now lies with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the international body that addresses human rights in the Americas. It is deciding whether the United States Government violated Rojas’ human rights.
A Customs and Border Protection spokesperson issued the following statement to ABC 10News:
“CBP — including the US Border Patrol — is firmly committed to accountability and transparency. In the last few years, the agency has implemented new use of force standards; fielded thousands of body worn cameras and standardized the rapid release of critical incident footage; and has implemented a new vehicle pursuit policy — all to better support our personnel and the communities we serve. CBP also releases a wide range of information about our operations regularly including encounter and seizure data, use of force statistics, and detailed statements regarding all critical incidents. These measures place CBP at the forefront of federal law enforcement agencies. We will continue to prioritize accountability and transparency and take any appropriate steps to update policies and procedures, as we perform our critical homeland security mission.”
