{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://raskin.house.gov/2021/9/oversight-committee-demands-answers-seeks-urgent-briefing-on-border-patrol-agents-abusive-conduct-towards-migrants-and-deportations-to-haiti", "Oversight Committee Demands Answers, Seeks Urgent Briefing on Border Patrol Agents\u2019 Abusive Conduct Towards Migrants and Deportations to Haiti", "2021-09-22", "2021", "2021-09", "Democrat", "House", "MD", "Jamie Raskin", "R000606", "raskin.house.gov", "raskin", "https://raskin.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. (September 22, 2021)\u2014 Today, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, and Committee Members Reps. Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz sent a letter to Troy A. Miller, the Acting Administrator of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), demanding a briefing and answers regarding press reports of the inhumane treatment of migrants in Del Rio, Texas, by Border Patrol agents on horseback.\n\n\u201cSuch abusive conduct is unacceptable and raises troubling questions about culture, training, and discipline within CBP,\u201d wrote the Members. \u201cIn addition, reports that thousands of migrants are being deported to Haiti despite turmoil in that country raise serious concerns about whether the federal government is failing to treat migrants\u2014including those fleeing violence, political instability, and natural disasters\u2014with respect and dignity and affording them a meaningful opportunity to seek asylum. We write today to urge immediate action by CBP to address these concerns.\u201d\n\nThe Committee has an ongoing investigation of misconduct by Border Patrol agents in secret Facebook groups as well as CBP\u2019s disciplinary process. In today\u2019s letter, the Members urged CBP to examine broader issues of culture and training within the agency that may have contributed to this conduct.\n\nThe actions of agents at the Del Rio border appear to violate CBP\u2019s Standards of Conduct. The agency\u2019s Table of Offenses recommend discipling agents for \u201c[f]ighting, threatening, attempting to inflict or inflicting bodily harm to another; engaging in dangerous horseplay, any violent act, language, gestures, or conduct toward members of the public.\u201d\n\nThe Members also asked CBP to end its use of Title 42 to deport migrants to Haiti \u201cat a time when the country is still reeling from multiple crises, including the assassination of Haiti\u2019s president this July and an earthquake last month.\u201d\n\n\u201cIn the words of the late Chairman Elijah E. Cummings, \u2018We\u2019re better than this.\u2019 We expect CBP to take immediate action to ensure that all migrants are treated humanely and with respect,\u201d the Members added.\n\nAs an initial step, the Committee requested a briefing and a written response by September 24, 2021.\n\nClick here to read today\u2019s letter.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:17:01Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://raskin.house.gov/2021/9/oversight-committee-demands-answers-seeks-urgent-briefing-on-border-patrol-agents-abusive-conduct-towards-migrants-and-deportations-to-haiti"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6850871033966541, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}