A top Democratic is calling for senior leaders from the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agency to resign and for “a new, untainted team” to be brought in to replace them.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer released a public statement demanding CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan and other top officials be dismissed from their offices following a series of reports describing poor living conditions at immigrant detention centers and cruel behavior among CBP personnel.
Seeking new blood
The senator’s statement calling for Morgan’s resignation cited a Department of Homeland Security inspector general report pointing to “serious overcrowding” and prolonged detention for immigrants at the border. Government auditors found children at multiple facilities across the country who lacked access to showers and clean clothes.
“Internal investigations aren’t enough because the leadership at CBP, particularly Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan, are too callous about the way in which children and their families are treated, which is why we need untainted professionals to be brought in from outside the CBP structure immediately,” Schumer’s officer wrote.
“The horrid conditions CBP has subjected children and families to at the border are nothing short of inhumane and downright inexcusable,” the press release continued. “Too much of CBP has been an out of control agency for too long, and it must be reined in immediately.”
Agents behaving badly
Besides taking exception to conditions at local facilities, Schumer blasted CBP leadership for a recently revealed secret Facebook group where current and former Border Patrol agents posted numerous offensive posts online about immigrants and Democratic lawmakers. Members of the forum referred to migrant women as “scumbags” and posted multiple fake memes depicting Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) performing sex acts.
“These posts are completely inappropriate and contrary to the honor and integrity I see — and expect — from our agents day in and day out,” Border Patrol Chief Carla Provost said in a public statement.
During a recent tour of a CBP facility, Ocasio-Cortez claimed that she encountered a detainee that was forced to drink water from a toilet. “Officers were keeping women in cells w/ no water & had told them to drink out of the toilets. This was them on their GOOD behavior in front of members of Congress,” the congresswoman tweeted Monday.
However, a CBP agent who followed Ocasio-Cortez throughout the facility said that the lawmaker was purposely misconstruing a story she heard. The anonymous agent spoke with the Washington Examiner about that day:
So this is what happened with the migrant and drinking water from toilet: She wanted water, didn’t know how to use the faucet in the cell and drank from the toilet. She never told AOC that we made her drink from the toilet. AOC, of course, changed it. … This was when she [the migrant] was apprehended and brought into the facility.
Schumer’s folly
Schumer’s outrage over the substandard living conditions at immigrant housing facilities is ironic given Democrats’ refusal to fund the basic resources that the Trump administration has requested to alleviate the crisis. Progressive lawmakers already knew that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities were beyond maximum capacity when they refused a $4.2 billion spending bill to increase space and beds for migrants.
During an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Vice President Mike Pence reminded his host that Democrats knew that border facilities were “overwhelmed,” but decided to cut resources anyway. He said that the shortage of toothbrushes, blankets and medical supplies was “was one of the reasons we were asking for more bed space when we were negotiating with Congress during the government shutdown.”
Furthermore, Schumer is calling for Morgan’s resignation from a job he hasn’t even started. The current acting CBP head, John Sanders, resigned in late June but will not fully vacate his position until July 5.
Why should Morgan be held accountable for a position he has yet to assume? CBP officials are currently investigating allegations of inhuman treatment at their facilities. Therefore, it would be inappropriate to force resignations from top officials until the facts are ascertained.
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