Sec. Johnson Visits Border to Meet with the Brass, Not the Abused

Last week, United States Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson visited two states of our U.S.–Mexico border, Texas and Arizona, for what the ACLU hopes is the first of many visits to inspect first-hand the effects caused by a massive increase in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) resources over the last decade. On his visit to the Rio Grande Valley, where a struggling economy contrasts with billions of dollars spent on border fencing and surveillance, Secretary Johnson toured the Port Isabel Detention Center, a facility that highlights CBP's need to improve the standards and conditions of confinement in its detention facilities. He met exclusively with various law enforcement agencies, U.S. Representatives, and border city mayors, all of whom emphasized the importance of securing our borders but also the necessity of facilitating and expediting trade and commerce through our ports of entry. Secretary Johnson missed an opportunity to hear directly from his most important stakeholders: border residents and community leaders from all walks of life. He could have better seen and understood their urgent need to have proper oversight and accountability for CBP personnel. When he's next at the border, we hope Secretary Johnson's itinerary reflects a commitment to appreciating what life here is really like, in order to reform the CBP policies and practices that every day seriously impede the quality of border residents' lives. Secretary Johnson must not forget that true "security" of our border communities is the most vital objective of his Department. Border residents have paid the price of a militarized zone imposed in the name of national security, but they don’t feel safe or secure. They are harassed, abused, and racially profiled by the same CBP personnel sworn to protect them and to uphold the Constitution.