CBP Falsified Records in Death of Boy

Robert Moore, El Paso Matters, Sept. 17, 2021

"A new report details “deeply troubling failures” by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the 2019 death of a Guatemalan boy in the agency’s custody, including the creation of false records suggesting he was monitored during the night, the chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security said Friday.  Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., who leads the panel, called on the agency to “take corrective action to help ensure a tragedy like this never occurs again.”  “The committee will be continuing its investigation into this matter, including whether those who falsified records in this case were held accountable,” Thompson said.  Border Patrol agents recorded “hourly welfare checks that had not actually occurred” while 16-year-old Carlos Hernandez Vasquez died of the flu in his cell, but Justice Department prosecutors who reviewed the case found “no criminal intent” in his death and brought no charges, the Department of Homeland Security inspector general said in a news release this week. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the parent agency of the Border Patrol, said it is reviewing the report to determine whether to take disciplinary action."