Dozens at Border Patrol under investigation over Facebook group that mocked dead kids

More than five dozen current and former U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees are under investigation for participating in a Facebook group in which users mocked migrants suffering and deaths. 

Sixty-two are current border patrol employees, and eight are former employees, AP reported, and probes into two employees have already been completed. However, it is unclear what repercussions employees may face.

One post in the widely condemned group mocked the image of a father and his two-year-old daughter who drowned in the Rio Grande, and other posts included vulgar and sexist language about female members of Congress. The group, called “I’m 10-15” had roughly 9,500 members, according to NBC News.   

Similar posts were shared in at least one other Facebook group, an official told AP. He also noted that the investigation was not a formal criminal investigation and is being conducted by Border Protection, after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s watchdog agency declined to investigate.

Carla Provost, the acting chief of U.S. Customs and Border Protection under Trump, has said that “any employees found to have violated our standards of conduct will be held accountable.”

Provost has led the border patrol agency since July of last year and posted within the group three months after her appointment. 

The investigation comes as the Trump administration is ramping up its inhumane deportation and detention efforts. 

On Monday, the Trump administration announced it is scaling back the ability of asylum-seekers from many Central American countries to apply for asylum in the U.S., threatening the lives of families fleeing violence. ICE is also detaining a record number of migrants despite Congress telling it not to, as foul conditions plague many detention camps.

For some border patrol employees, these deplorable actions are apparently a laughing matter. 

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.