Hundreds of U.S. border officers are under investigation for alleged misconduct including trafficking, bribery and sexual assault, Newsweek can reveal.
Official figures seen by Newsweek show that 211 officers of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) face accusations ranging from serious crime such as drug smuggling, to non-criminal misconduct.
The documents show 17 alleged cases of domestic violence, 11 cases of sexual assault, and 10 cases of smuggling migrants across the border.
Another 11 agents are being investigated for physical abuse of a detainee, while 13 stand accused of association with criminal gangs.
The true picture of the alleged misconduct could be significantly worse, however, as Newsweek understands that the CBP is also probing allegations of crimes against children.
Those cases, which were not broken down in the data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), are categorized by the CBP as “other criminal” because they do not match the general criminal categories listed in the agency’s case management system.
