The Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC), informed that the Office of Inspector General in the United States, will begin an investigation regarding several cases of brutality, and the use of excessive force by border patrol agents.

Such investigation is the result of a request of 16 members of Congress, who are concerned about the increase in cases of violence at the border.

Only from 2010 to date there have been 19 deaths that are known, which the last four deaths have occurred in the last four months.

Some of the more known cases are, Tachiquin Munique Valerie Alvarado, who died in a residential area of San Diego, and Anastasio Hernández Rojas, in which the agents responsible for that incident have not yet been punished, from an investigation that began in 2010.

Christian Ramirez, who is the Human rights director at Alliance San Diego and SBCC director, considers that the fact that Customs and Border Patrol hires people with a history of misconduct, and who shoot before interviewing the subjects, that those are signs of an agency out of control.

Vicky Gaubeca director of the Regional Center for Border Rights of the ACLU of New Mexico, on her part said that, Customs and Border Patrol should have a plan to better manage their agents, and implement techniques to reduce the violence, have a zero tolerance policy in cases of abuse of authority and guarantee the punishment of those who violate human rights.

The activist Enrique Morones, who is also the director of a pro-immigrant group called Border Angels commented, that "People in authority positions should be held to the highest standard of the law, no excuses. Law enforcement should not investigate law enforcement, we need independent agencies. Injustice here is injustice everywhere. "

The Southern Border Communities Coalition is made up of more than 60 organizations in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.

Brenda.Colon@sandiegored.com

Translation : Omar.Martinez@sandiegored.com