Missing the Mark: The National Security Failings in Rio Grande Valley Border Communities

Information for this report was compiled over 18 months of research and two staff investigative visits to the Valley. We have looked at major issues facing this historic part of Texas:  

• growing numbers of detainees being held for long periods of time in substandard conditions;  
• growing militarization along the border as local law enforcement becomes more and more involved in enforcement of federal immigration law; 
• denial of passports to U.S. citizens born of midwives; and
• construction of the Border Wall. 

Testimony from detainees, their attorneys and advocates, residents and officials has been compiled to paint a picture of systemic and systematic civil and human rights violations.  

During the ACLU delegation visit, we interviewed detainees, some held for years without a hearing, and their attorneys who tell stories of little or no medical care, and, in some instances, life-threatening medical mistakes. They describe detainees’ lives without privacy, hunger because food is inedible or insufficient, isolation, deprivation, and assault. Held in a remote region with few resources, they are far from family and access to legal representation. They suffer with little or no access to counsel, friends or family.