New Border Patrol chief was in secret Facebook group that mocked dead kids

Rodney Scott, who the Trump administration announced as the new head of the U.S. Border Patrol Friday, was a member of a Facebook group that mocked dead migrant children and circulated vulgar and sexist memes about Democratic members of Congress.

Scott, who previously led the San Diego Sector of the agency, was named on Friday as the new leader in a memo from Mark Morgan, acting head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The Intercept reported last July that Scott was a member of the secret Facebook group and posted messages to the group in November of 2018.

The group, called “I’m 10-15,” circulated a post showing an image of a father and his two-year-old daughter found drowned in the Rio Grande. “Have y’all ever seen floaters this clean,” one member commented.

Another poster commented on news of a 16-year-old Guatemalan dying in U.S. custody: “If he dies, he dies.”

Along with the anti-migrant messages, posters in the group shared memes about Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) with sexist messages. One meme was a photoshopped picture of Donald Trump forcing Ocasio-Cortez to perform a sexual act.

“We understand now that CBP has known about the secret group named ‘I’m 10-15’ for up to three years, and that Border Patrol Chief Carla Provost was a member, as well as three current chief patrol agents, Matthew Hudak, Rodney Scott, and Jason Owens,” wrote Rep. Don Beyer in a letter to the Department of Homeland Security.

Outgoing Border Patrol head Carla Provost was also a member of the Facebook group, along with five dozen current and former employees of the agency.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.