Report: Border Patrol agents seen in video dumping ill man into Mexico

U.S. Border Patrol agents were caught on camera attempting to force an injured and mentally unstable man to cross into Mexico because they said he “looks” Mexican, according to NBC News.

Video obtained by NBC News shows several Border Patrol agents falsely claiming a clearly detained man was not in their custody, while failing to identify the man and remarking that he must be a Mexican immigrant due to his appearance, the network reported.

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According to the report, Border Patrol agents then left the man, who was described by witnesses as in mental distress, in a park on the U.S. side of the border and lost track of him for nearly a month. When Border Patrol agents finally found him again, he was taken to the Mexican consulate, where he was determined to be a Mexican citizen with 16 prior crossings.

An agreement between the U.S. government and Mexico clearly states that any Mexican citizens suspected of crossing the border illegally must be processed at a Mexican consulate, NBC News noted. Tens of thousand of other immigrants who are not Mexican also cross the border in this region as well, and by law must be deported to their home countries, not Mexico, it added.

In a statement to NBC News, a Border Patrol official said the conduct displayed by agents in the video was not “consistent” with the agency’s values.

“In the video, our actions were not consistent with our normal procedures. Corrective action was taken to ensure all our agents understand their responsibilities of adhering to established processes, practices, and policies,” Assistant Chief Patrol Agent David Kim told NBC.

Immigrant-rights advocates say however that the incident is merely the latest sign of the “denigration” of civil rights at America’s southern border with Mexico.

“Attorneys have seen for years the denigration of legal protections for immigrants at the border when CBP fails to follow proper procedure, including turning away asylum seekers at the border and denying them the opportunity to seek protection and summarily deporting people without due process in clear violation of U.S. and international law,” American Immigration Lawyers Association Director Greg Chen told NBC.