ICE and Border Patrol Abuse Undocumented Unaccompanied Minors
November 15, 2008 in Publications by Administrator
A study released yesterday by the Center for Public Policy Priorities
(CPPP) found that more than 43,000 undocumented, unaccompanied
children have been mistreated while in custody and denied access to
representation by Customs and Border Protection (Border Patrol) and
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and then transported home
unsafely.
The report found the following:
In clear violation of international and U.S. child welfare standards,
our interviews with the Mexican and Honduran children uncovered
troubling claims of child abuse and maltreatment by U.S. Border Patrol
officers, including:
• Inattention to repeated requests for medical attention;
• No access to water while in the border patrol station;
• Having to sleep on the floor without a blanket in a heavily air
conditioned cell;
• Not being given any or enough food;
• Not being allowed to contact family;
• Being struck and knocked down by agents;
• Being handcuffed; and
• Being transported “like dogs,” in kennel like compartments.
What these children encounter at the hands of the Department of
Homeland Security is no different from the undocumented immigrants
locked up in our detention centers. CPPP also found:
• One boy described being locked in bathroom at a border patrol
substation for hours until transferred;
• Several children mentioned being laughed at by the Border Patrol who
apprehended them;
• One girl said she was threatened at gun point by Border Patrol; and
• Of the six participants who reported being handcuffed only one
described the experience as maltreatment.
A Child Alone and Without Papers
