Human Rights Groups Ask for Suspension of High Speed Border Chases

In the wake of a recent Yuma Border Patrol high speed chase that resulted in the deaths of 10 migrants, including a young child, and injury of eleven others, border human rights groups from California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas today joined in a letter to DHS Secretary Chertoff, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Ralph Basham, and Border Patrol Chief David Aguilar, asking that the Border Patrol suspend high speed chases pending a review and updating of Border Patrol hot pursuit policies. The Border Human Rights Working Group was formed at a July 12 meeting in Tucson of the major organizations in the four states along the US-Mexico border involved in border violence work. The Border Human Rights Working Group also joined a request addressed to the Border Patrol for copies of all documents relating to the Yuma chase and crash and all policies and training materials regarding high speed chases. The Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law will seek U visas for surviving victims who assist law enforcement to prosecute the driver. These visas for victims of violent crimes were made possible by a law enacted by Congress six years, but the DHS has yet to issue an application form, visa regulations, or approve a single U visa. A copy of the to DHS Secretary Chertoff, et al. is Download yumacrash_letter

KJ