Latest moves by Trump Administration fast-track more devastating harm to borderlands caused by border wall construction  Southern Border — Yesterday, the Trump Administration announced an unprecedented swath of waivers allowing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to ignore federal contracting and procurement laws to expedite border wall construction across the borderlands in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. By including all of the southern border in the new nine border wall waivers, the administration is creating a path for unscrupulous, backdoor border wall contracts across the borderlands. Continue reading

Scott's track record demonstrates creating a culture of impunity at Border Patrol, steeped in the misuse of agency resources and abuse of power (Former U.S. Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott testifies on his nomination to serve as U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner before the Senate Finance Committee at the Dirksen Senate Building in Washington D.C. April 30, 2025. /CBP, Jaime Rodriguez) SOUTHERN BORDER – Today, the Senate confirmed the Trump administration’s nominee, Rodney Scott, to the position of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner. The Southern Border Communities Coalition denounces his confirmation after repeatedly raising concerns about Mr. Scott's track record demonstrating he has been complicit in creating a culture of impunity at Border Patrol, the largest component of CBP, and is steeped in the misuse of agency resources and abuse of power, raising doubts about his ability to lead with integrity.  Continue reading

Basic freedoms and rights are at stake as U.S. government oversteps use of military to exercise control of The People, infringing on our civil liberties and human rights. Continue reading

DHS statements comes in response to recent hearings in a lawsuit challenging the shuttering of civil rights offices across the Department WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Department of Homeland Security today announced that it will not abolish the Department’s Offices for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL), the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman, or the Immigration Detention Ombudsman, reversing a previous move to shutter the offices.  Continue reading

NGOs raise major concerns with Scott’s use of illegal warrants and subpoenas to cover-up killings and abuse by border agents under his command (Former U.S. Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott testifies on his nomination to serve as U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner before the Senate Finance Committee in Washington D.C. April 30, 2025. / CBP, Jaime Rodriguez)   SOUTHERN BORDER – As Congress considers unprecedented levels of funding for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), 35 non-governmental organizations issued a letter today urging the Senate Finance Committee to vote against Trump's nominee for CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott, given his demonstrated lack of accountability and integrity in his prior leadership roles at Border Patrol. Continue reading

(U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents patrol an open air detention site (OADS) with migrants in their custody along the U.S.-Mexico border in December 2023. / Southern Border Communities Coalition)   Declarations detail stories of alleged abuse and neglect of people in DHS detention WASHINGTON, D.C. — Human rights and immigration advocate groups late yesterday asked a judge to issue a preliminary injunction to resume operations of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman Office, and Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman, asking the court to immediately reopen the offices tasked with protecting the civil rights of people who interact with immigration enforcement officials.  Continue reading

Move to bypass civil rights protections at Department of Homeland Security violates law and undermines constitutional protections Continue reading

Southern Border - Yesterday, the Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC) and the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law (CHRCL) submitted a report to the United Nations Human Rights Council on U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)’s continued human rights abuses at Open Air Detention Sites as part of the United Nations Universal Periodic Review of the United States. Continue reading

Southern Border - Today, the Southern Border Communities Coalition took its fight for dignity and human rights to the U.S. Supreme Court by filing an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief in a major police shooting case, Barnes v. Felix, to hold law enforcement including Customs and Border Protection (CBP), accountable for decades of unchecked killings and abuse. Continue reading

Southern Border - This week, the Southern Border Communities Coalition and the Sierra Club continued the fight to protect their landmark settlement committing the federal government to restore public lands harmed by illegal border wall construction during the Trump Administration. SBCC and Sierra Club filed an appeal to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in General Land Office of Texas v. Biden, an unrelated case brought by Texas and Missouri where the district court ruled to prohibit the federal government from using congressional appropriations to remediate and mitigate damage caused by border wall construction. Continue reading