{"id":5063577,"date":"2026-04-07T20:54:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T13:54:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/calatinonews.com\/?p=5063577"},"modified":"2026-04-07T20:54:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T13:54:08","slug":"border-communities-know-ices-impunity-all-too-well","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/caln\/2026\/04\/07\/border-communities-know-ices-impunity-all-too-well\/","title":{"rendered":"Border Communities Know ICE\u2019s Impunity All Too Well"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Department of Homeland Security shutdown has officially passed one month as lawmakers\u00a0continue to debate<\/a> limits on ICE\u2019s use of force. Though we\u2019ve arrived at this legislative standoff due to aggressive, and sometimes fatal, immigration enforcement actions in cities in our country\u2019s interior, for communities along the U.S.\u2013Mexico border, such abuses are nothing new. As I reveal through my\u00a0academic research<\/a>, immigration agents have operated with near-total impunity at the border for decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I uncovered patterns of excessive violence, coercion, and abuse at land ports of entry, through which more than 200 million people<\/a> including workers, students, and visitors legally enter the U.S. every single year. The link between agents\u2019 actions on the streets of American cities and the way they operate at the southern border is inevitable\u2014yet something the current conversation about ICE and potential reforms overlooks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take Antonio for example, a Mexican student from Tijuana who I interviewed for my research. Antonio explained that he learned from a young age that he had to comply with Customs and Border Patrol\u2019s (CBP) authority, even when the agents\u2019 practices infringed on his rights: \u201cBasically, my mother instilled in me from a young age how CBP officers could do anything. They can take away my visa, they can beat me up, they can throw tear gas at me, they can insult me, and we can\u2019t do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When such misconduct occurs, agents often intimidate and retaliate<\/a> against people who cross the border to discourage them from filing complaints<\/a>. Commuters and migrants are coerced to remain compliant even in situations of clear abuse. That parallels tactics used against legal observers<\/a> of immigration enforcers in U.S cities\u2014approaches that have stirred outrage among Americans across the political spectrum<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But even when complaints are filed, the current system protects agents. Investigators for the American Immigration Council revealed that 97 percent<\/a> of grievances filed by migrants after suffering abuse from Border Patrol agents resulted in \u201cno action taken.\u201d This impunity is also evident in the lack of accountability in cases of fatal shootings<\/a>involving migrants and U.S. citizens, deadly and reckless Border Patrol vehicle pursuits<\/a> under Texas\u2019 Operation Lone Star, and cross-border shootings<\/a> by Border Patrol against Mexicans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the prevalence of lethal force and abuse at the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, they rarely receive national attention\u2014though they resemble agents\u2019 aggressive approaches in Minnesota, Chicago, and elsewhere that have shocked the nation. Broadening the public\u2019s and our lawmakers\u2019 understanding of the violence committed by immigration enforcement agents is crucial to create much needed systemic change, not only in our cities but also at the border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, the recent documentary Critical Incident: Death at the Border<\/a>, focuses on Border Patrol\u2019s cover-up of the death of Anastasio Hern\u00e1ndez Rojas, a long-time San Diego resident who was in custody at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. In 2010, Border Patrol agents brutally tortured, beat, and suffocated<\/a> Rojas. These injuries left him brain-dead at a San Diego hospital, where he died from his injuries three days later. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To finally stop such abuses from happening at our border, structural reforms are needed. One place to start is to make it easier to file complaints when abuse occurs, ensure those complaints are taken seriously, and ensure misconduct investigations are fully transparent through CBP\u2019s Office of Professional Responsibility<\/a>. Meanwhile, in cities far from the border, it\u2019s important to prohibit immigration enforcement agents from driving unmarked vehicles or wearing masks during their operations, which limits legal observers\u2019 ability to identify and document civil and human rights violations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if lawmakers are truly invested in addressing ICE\u2019s lethal practices, their vote should not further expand DHS\u2019s already enormous budget, with the ultimate goal to defund and abolish ICE. The struggle of citizens killed in cities like Minneapolis is the struggle of the U.S.\u2013Mexico borderlands, and vice versa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Estefan\u00eda Casta\u00f1eda P\u00e9rez, Ph.D.<\/strong>, is an assistant professor at the Department of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Southern California. Her academic research examines border violence, race and ethnicity, and policing.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Department of Homeland Security shutdown has officially passed one month as lawmakers\u00a0continue to debate limits on ICE\u2019s use of 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