SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — The Southern Border Communities Coalition has sent a letter to Congress sharing what it calls “newly-discovered alarming facts” about the Border Patrol’s Critical Incident Teams that had been accused of covering up and distorting criminal and civil investigations involving Border Patrol agents.
In the past, SBCC investigated numerous cases involving these units saying it discovered instances of evidence tampering, evidence destruction, witness intimidation, fraudulent reports and other allegations to shield agents from prosecution or liability.
Ten months ago, SBCC sent its findings to Congress.
Shortly thereafter, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced it would eliminate these critical incident teams.
The Office of Professional Responsibility agreed to take over future investigations involving border agents.
But now, SBCC alleges the OPR is hiring the same agents who ran or are still involved with the Border Patrol’s Critical Incident Teams or the “very people that Congress is investigating with BPCITs.”
“SBCC is gravely concerned that at no time, even now, has CBP ever been transparent about the activities of BPCITs,” SBCC said in a statement. “In light of their history of coverups, we are particularly concerned about the destruction, concealment, and alteration of records related to BPCITs.”
In a new letter to Congress, SBCC goes on to say “the network of current and former BPCITs have permeated CBP and other parts of government … we believe the threat that BPCITs pose is ongoing, pervasive and may be increasing.”
Border Report reached out to CBP about these allegations, but the agency has yet to respond.
