Several Mexican women claim they were arbitrarily detained and strip-searched, and never told why they'd been singled out. A U.S. citizen alleges that an officer yanked his 11-year-old son's arm, causing a hairline fracture. A legal permanent resident of the United States says an officer screamed at her and falsely accused her of being a fugitive.

Those allegations are among 13 cases documented in a complaint the American Civil Liberties Union and the Southern Border Communities Coalition has filed with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The administrative complaint, lodged Tuesday, accuses officers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection of "systemic abuse" and rights violations at several entry points between Mexico and the United States.

 

"It really mocks our American values of justice and fairness," said Cynthia Pompa, a field organizer at the ACLU of New Mexico Regional Center for Border Rights. "And it shows that this agency really lacks oversight and accountability."