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CaliforniaPeggy

(149,308 posts)
Thu Jun 19, 2014, 12:04 AM Jun 2014

I have been given permission to post this letter by a good friend of mine, from Facebook.

This is a true incident; I have removed the names of the parties involved.

Incident with United States Customs and Border Patrol, Hidalgo Texas
June 18, 2014 at 6:03pm

I attempted and failed to submit the following complaint to the United States Customs and Border Protection Agency, because their web page is severely broken to the point that I, a software QA engineer with more than 40 years of experience was unable to submit the complaint about the Border Patrol, Texas, Rio Grande Sector, McAllen. Incompetence, or malice? You decide.



Dear Sirs and Madams,



My name is XXXXXXX, United States Citizen born abroad. I am speaking on behalf of my step-son, XXXX, a Mexican citizen, a minor, born to my spouse, XXXX, a legal resident of the United States. XXXX is currently waiting to receive United States Citizenship through me as my son. He is traveling to visit my mother, XXXX, also a United States Citizen living in XXXX, to retrieve a personal computer purchased for him, by me, and returning to Mexico while awaiting his citizenship process to complete.


XXXX was detained at the Hidalgo Texas entry point and subjected to a humiliating interrogation for over 40 minutes, accused of being a liar, threatened to have his US visa revoked, threatened to have his sister's US visas revoked, threatened to have his mother deported as an illegal alien, and subjected to numerous other humiliations and accusations based on no evidence whatsoever. He was kept at the Border Patrol station long enough to be unable to return to his bus and left stranded in Hidalgo Texas awaiting a family friend to rescue him from this predicament. At no time did the officers of the Hidalgo Texas border patrol contact me or my spouse to verify the authenticity of XXXX's status, purpose of visit, or any other information in question. Rather, he was left in isolation, his cell phone confiscated, and left to wonder if he would ever be released, whether he would be forced to return across the border and left stranded in Reynosa, a Mexican town he does not know and where he has no relatives or contacts, a city that is known for deadly violence. Let me reiterate, my son is a minor.



I wish I could say that this is an isolated incident but I know from personal experience that this is part and parcel of how this border entry point operates. Through years of bitter personal experience I have become acquainted with the degrading attitude of these goose-stepping morons and the treatment they subject all entrants to the United States; the weaker and more humble their position appears, the more they relish the opportunity to savage them to satisfy their sadistic pleasure.



I am embarrassed and dismayed at the treatment received by my family at the hands of officers of the United States. I have always upheld this country as a beacon of justice and fair play. I have always insisted in respecting and obeying the law. My son is still in Mexico living with relatives precisely because we honor and respect the law and have no intention of bringing XXXX to live with us until all procedures have been followed; every 't' crossed, every 'i' dotted. XXXX was honest and open with these officers and he was called a liar to his face. These are not the actions of properly trained officers of the law. How can I proudly hold up this country as an example of what can be achieved by obeying the laws when even those who are charged with enforcing it ignore it instead? It is particularly galling to me since my spouse, prior to coming to this country, worked for the Court System in the State of Coahuila, Mexico, in the Human Rights Division. Please let that sink in.


XXXX did not return to get the names and badge numbers of the officers who subjected him to this savage treatment only for fear of further reprisals. I am livid and I want you to know that this letter will not stop here. Copies of this text will be sent to congressman Ruben Hinojosa, Texas District 15, Stephen Lynch, Massachusetts 8th District, US Senators Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey, John Cornyn, Ted Cruz, Secretary of State John Kerry, and Erasmo Martínez, Mexican Consul in McAllen Texas and a personal childhood friend.



I will also seek legal counsel to see what options are available to us to stop this abuse once and for all.



Respectfully,



16 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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sabrina 1

(62,325 posts)
1. Your friend should also contact the ACLU, although I know they are overwhelmed with injustices
Thu Jun 19, 2014, 12:17 AM
Jun 2014

committed by supposed 'officers of the law'. I believe they look for the worst kind of human beings for these jobs.

I'm sorry this happened to your friend's son.

I have relatives in Europe, young people who I invited over for a vacation. Our reputation is so bad now that they apologized to me for having to refuse because, they said, they would prefer to go somewhere in Europe where they would not be 'treated like terrorists'.

CaliforniaPeggy

(149,308 posts)
2. Thank you for the suggestion, my dear sabrina 1.
Thu Jun 19, 2014, 12:20 AM
Jun 2014

I will pass it along to him.



Thank you for your good thoughts as well...

sabrina 1

(62,325 posts)
3. You're welcome, CaliforniaPeggy. I wish I could think of something more to do but the more
Thu Jun 19, 2014, 12:24 AM
Jun 2014

noise people make, the more likely it is that these hateful people will at least have to try to be more careful.

Warpy

(110,913 posts)
6. I have NA friends around here who report they always get hassled
Thu Jun 19, 2014, 12:45 AM
Jun 2014

at the border when they've gone south for business or pleasure. I can't imagine what happens to local Hispanos.

It's utterly ridiculous, as is Stupid's insistence that we now present passports in order to cross back. Mexico was where a lot of in state people went for their dental care. Now they have to do without unless they can afford a pricey passport.

It's all a case of pushing brown people around so white people will feel safer. It's not working for me. How's it doing for you?

Mnemosyne

(21,363 posts)
10. I have no doubt as to the validity of her complaint, my bil worked that station, iirc. He is a total
Thu Jun 19, 2014, 01:36 AM
Jun 2014

racist, bigoted asshole. He has no respect for anyone unless they have money. He wouldn't even acknowledge my presence, when occasion arose to be in the same place, because I have smoked weed. He drinks like a fish and listens to that really violent rap music. His buddies seemed the same. Hope they get nailed for being such creeps. He is in Rochester, NY now and harassing people 100 miles from the border.

Best of luck to your friend, and tell her to never use that border station again. I would bet they'd keep a list of anyone that refuses to bow to their power.

Lobo27

(753 posts)
12. Stuff like this happens to often and other similar incidents.
Thu Jun 19, 2014, 01:51 AM
Jun 2014

I'm half Mexican half white, but unlike my sisters and brother, I'm the only one that came out brown. Not that it matters. But I do remember at time in 2007, I was 21 at the time, and my now wife and I were traveling from Dallas to Denver. We stopped in Childress, Texas to pick her cousin. We were going to a family event.

So about 10 miles or so outside Childress we were pulled over. The cop came to the passenger door which was mine, but I figured he did so because he did not want to get hit my traffic. That all changed when he asked me for identification. He did not ask my wife or her cousin. He went to his patrol car and stayed for about 20mins, and when he came back.

He gave me my ID, and then asked where was I headed etc. He even asked if I worked, and how long I had lived in Texas. He asked several more questions, but he stopped once my wife said if were getting a ticket and then simply said watch your speed and left us. I did not make a big deal about it, but in the end I figured he did not like the idea of brown guy and two white girls in a car.

Maybe the cops in the area were looking for a guy who matched my description. Who knows really. But then again why tell us to watch our speed.

My incident is nowhere near what happened to this boy. It just reminded me of past events. I hope everything works out.

kag

(4,076 posts)
13. Your friend might consider sending this to Rachel Maddow...
Thu Jun 19, 2014, 03:27 AM
Jun 2014

She did a story recently about how opaque the Border Patrol system is with regard to its internal workings, and especially with regard to internal investigations.

Not sure if she would take it on, but it's worth a shot.

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