Washington, D.C. – Congressional Progressive Caucus Co-Chairs Congressman Mark Pocan (WI-02) and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) released the following statement on the ProPublica story revealing U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents made crude and derogatory comments about detained immigrants and lawmakers:
“We are appalled by the vile and inexcusable conduct displayed in this Facebook group. Clearly, there is a pervasive culture within CBP of dehumanizing and racist behavior towards immigrants in custody, by some CBP agents.”
“This disturbing report underscores our concerns with the decision to provide additional funding for CBP absent appropriate and necessary safeguards to ensure detained immigrants are treated with dignity. We support a full investigation into this despicable conduct and we urge CBP to take swift disciplinary action against the perpetrators, up to and including termination.”
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