SOUTHERN BORDER — After witnessing egregious human rights violations, the Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC) has filed a damning complaint with the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL). The complaint alleges that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is detaining migrants in cruel, inhuman and degrading conditions in an open-air corridor in California.  Continue reading

Southern Border — The Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC) is alerting the public to egregious human rights violations by U.S. border agents. Currently, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents are holding hundreds of migrants in deplorable conditions on U.S. soil between layers of the border wall in San Diego, California near the San Ysidro Port of Entry. The U.S. border wall with Mexico in San Diego is composed of two layers, a primary and secondary border wall. Both the primary and secondary border walls, and the areas in between them, are part of the United States. The migrants in that corridor are in CBP custody. Continue reading

Southern Border — In the midst of government actions that dehumanize migrants and violate international treaty obligations, the Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC) calls on all parts of the government to start with dignity in the treatment of migrants. Rather than humanize migrants, government officials are penalizing them for asserting their inalienable (human) rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It’s time for a reset on border policy. It’s time to refocus on human dignity.  Continue reading

Southern Border — Today, SBCC sent a letter to Chairman Peters and Ranking Member Paul marking the one year since Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that the agency would eliminate Border Patrol Critical Incident Teams (BPCITs), which the Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC) exposed as the largest and longest standing cover up units in the federal government. Despite the announced elimination, which went into effect in October 2022, investigations of excessive force continue to be compromised. The public deserves to know if CBP, the largest law enforcement agency in the country, is enabling more cover ups and undermining the integrity of an agency that has yet to earn the trust of U.S. voters. Continue reading

  WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Biden administration is proposing almost $25 billion dollars for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in its FY2024 budget proposal, an increase of $800 million over the enacted 2023 budget. The proposal includes a new $4.7 billion “contingency fund” for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), funding for an additional 350 Border Patrol Agents, and $535 million for border security technologies. Continue reading

SOUTHERN BORDER - This week, Secretary of Homeland Security Mayorkas announced updates to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Use of Force Policy. The Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC) commends Secretary Mayorkas and the Biden Administration for their efforts to respond to the national outcry for use-of-force policy reform and improved accountability mechanisms. While the new policy is a step in the right direction, it falls short of meeting international human rights standards and does not do enough to protect human life, putting communities across the country and in the border region at risk.  Continue reading

SOUTHERN BORDER, Nov. 2, 2022 — Today, on Día de los Muertos, the Southern Border Communities Coalition is calling on the Biden administration and Congress to end policies that harden the U.S.-Mexico border and force an increasing number of people seeking safety to their deaths.  Continue reading

SOUTHERN BORDER, August 11, 2022 — The Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC) sent a letter to Congress today to share new and alarming facts that could directly impact their investigation of unlawful Border Patrol’s Critical Incident Teams (BPCITs), that have operated as cover-up teams for more than three decades. Continue reading

SOUTHERN BORDER, July 21, 2022 — Today, the U.S. Immigration Policy Center (USIPC) at UC San Diego and the Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC) released the results of a nationally representative border-specific survey Voters Distrust Border Agency, Want More Oversight and Accountability conducted in July 2022.  Continue reading

SOUTHERN BORDER, July 12, 2022 — On July 8, 2022, CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility released a disappointing 500+ page report on their sham investigation into the abuse of Haitian migrants in Del Rio, Texas in September of 2021. Nearly ten months later, and with no interviews from victims or other Haitian migrants who witnessed the incident, the investigation concluded there was no evidence that Border Patrol agents struck any person with their reins intentionally nor did agents prevent migrants from seeking safety, which is the opposite of what the photos and agent testimonies showed and what witnesses told the Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC). Continue reading