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WASHINGTON, Sept. 21, 2023—New documents revealed in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from the American Immigration Council, the Black Alliance for Just Immigration and partners, confirm U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) presence at racial justice protests in the summer of 2020.
As we commemorate the three-year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd and the largest series of organized actions for racial justice in U.S. history, it’s clear that CBP—an agency many believed was confined to border enforcement—deployed personnel, aerial surveillance, and other federal law enforcement resources to cities around the country. (Pearland, TX; Bemidji, MN; Niagara, NY; Ellsworth, ME; Port Clinton, OH; and CBP capabilities). In at least one documented instance, CBP personnel utilized unmarked vehicles to remove and detain protestors without identifying the agency.
This new interactive data report from the American Immigration Council compiles and discusses publicly available documents:
CBP Deployment Interactive Web Report
Following the lawsuit, CBP produced thousands of documents detailing the widespread nature of the deployments, limited last-minute training of CBP officers, and internal confusion within CBP about its enforcement role. The documents show that CBP often got involved in policing protests without being asked by city or state officials, and that its actions went beyond its supposed mandate to protect federal property.
The American Immigration Council has a range of subject matter experts who are available to speak on this subject.
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