Agents Block, Mistreat Mexican Asylum Seekers: US

United States Border Patrol agents are denying access to asylum to families fleeing violence in Mexico, in violation of US and international human rights law Human Rights Watch said today.

The agents have expelled asylum seekers to Mexico, where many said they feared persecution, as well as mistreated and ordered them to discard their belongings. US and international human rights law guarantee the right to seek asylum, and to humane treatment when in government custody.

Human Rights Watch observed a similar pattern of adults and even young children deported without their backpacks, shoelaces, sweatshirt drawstrings, jackets, warm clothes, toys, medicines, food, water, or other personal items. Border Patrol agents allowed people to keep only those belongings that fit in a gallon-size plastic bag, which meant only some documents, cell phones, jewelry, and money, both US and Mexican currency.

Similar credible accounts gathered by other groups – Similar accounts of inhumane treatment and hostility to the right to seek asylum and requirements to throw away their belongings were also included in a February 2024 report by the ACLU, Kino Border Initiative, Protect AZ Health, and the Sikh Coalition; and similar findings in a July 2024 report by the Women’s Refugee Commission, the Kino Border Initiative, the National Immigrant Justice Center, Refugees International, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, National Immigration Law Center, the Hope Border Institute, the Florence Project, the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, and Human Rights First; and in an August 2024 report by Human Rights First, the Kino Border Initiative, Hope Border Institute, Raices, and the Immigrant Defenders Law Center.