Reps. Vargas, Castro, Jacobs, Peters Call on Border Patrol for Answers on New “Shadow Units” Report
WASHINGTON – U.S. Representatives Juan Vargas (CA-52), Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Sara Jacobs (CA-51), and Scott Peters (CA-50) called for answers on “Shadow Units” or “Critical Incident Teams” within U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) following a new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). The GAO report confirms that these units were widespread - used in seven of nine U.S. Border Patrol sectors, including San Diego, on the southwest border - and operated for years with little to no oversight.
In 2021, Rep. Vargas and his colleagues called for an immediate investigation into Critical Incident Teams after allegations that Border Patrol had “special, secretive units that work to cover up any wrongdoing when agents kill someone or otherwise use force in potentially problematic ways” were published in the San Diego Union-Tribune.
“This report raises serious questions about how these units were able to operate for so long with little to no oversight. The American people deserve nothing less than full transparency. It’s imperative that CBP take steps to ensure that something like this never happens again,” the lawmakers wrote.
The GAO report also provided a series of recommendations for CBP to take to ensure that its responses to critical incidents are objective, unbiased, and lawful.
“Full implementation of these recommendations is especially important for our constituents who live near the United States-Mexico border–many of whom regularly interact with CBP officials as they make their way between the United States and Mexico to work or visit family,” the lawmakers continued. “We must ensure that the Border Patrol officials we entrust to enforce the law are not acting outside of it.”
Read the full letter HERE.
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