The International Human Rights Law Clinic is working with the Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC) to document abuse by Customs Border Patrol (CBP) agents, elevate the most egregious cases of abuse in the media, seek justice for the aggrieved, and pursue administrative and legislative policy solutions to improve oversight and accountability of the agents. Although SBCC has made substantial progress on policy, advocates, victims, and their families have been frustrated by the lack of legal accountability.
In the nearly 100-year history of Border Patrol, rarely if ever has an agent been successfully prosecuted for killing or harming a border resident or migrant. The International Human Rights Law Clinic (IHRLC) is working with SBCC to develop an international strategy to bolster their domestic efforts. The project entails leveraging international law and institutions to press domestic state actors to pursue justice. The Clinic is also assessing the possibility of bringing criminal complaints in Mexico for killings committed by CBP agents on Mexican territory.