Background
The mission of CBP is to safeguard our nation's borders. CBP is the largest law enforcement agency in the United States with more than 60,000 sworn law enforcement officers and agents.[4] In July 2019, the Committee on Oversight and Reform opened an investigation into violent and offensive posts by CBP employees to secret Facebook groups. The Committee's investigation focused on "I'm 10-15," a private Facebook group of over 9,500 members that described itself as a place for members of the Border Patrol to post content that was "funny, serious and just work related." "10-15" is a Border Patrol code for "aliens in custody." CBP employees posted content about killing and harming migrants on "I'm 10-15." A congressional delegation to a Texas immigration detention facility in 2019 sparked a surge in racist and sexually violent content on "I'm 10-15," including multiple images depicting a Member of Congress being violently and sexually assaulted.[5]
In July 2019, the late Chairman Elijah E. Cummings requested documents from CBP on employee participation in secret Facebook groups, including disciplinary cases completed by CBP's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR).[6]
Under the Trump Administration, CBP obstructed the Committee's investigation from its inception and sought to shield Border Patrol agents who committed misconduct. Despite multiple letters and requests by Members at Committee hearings, CBP refused to provide the Committee access to documents and witnesses.
Between September 2019 and February 2020, Chairman Cummings and Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney sent two additional oversight letters to CBP.[7] In March 2020, CBP produced a set of documents that were extensively redacted, masking which employees were charged with misconduct, the roles they held at CBP, how they were disciplined, and whether they continued to work with migrant populations.[8]
In November 2020, Chairwoman Maloney issued a subpoena to compel CBP to produce complete and unredacted documents.[9] CBP failed to produce documents by the subpoena's deadline. On January 11, 2021, the Chairwoman wrote to CBP urging full compliance with the Committee's subpoena.[10] On February 17, 2021, under the Biden Administration, CBP finally began providing complete and unredacted files regarding employees, their alleged misconduct, and proposed and final disciplinary measures.
Committee staff reviewed 135 case files of CBP employees alleged to have committed misconduct in "I'm 10-15" and similar secret Facebook groups. This report highlights a selection of these case files that show a range of CBP employees, types of misconduct, and final disciplinary actions.
CBP has a multi-step process to receive, investigate, and adjudicate allegations of employee misconduct, whether the conduct occurs inside or outside of the workplace. CBP employees are required to report serious misconduct that could jeopardize the agency's mission.[11] OPR investigates the conduct, and CBP's Discipline Review Board proposes discipline. A deciding official then makes a discipline determination. In some cases, when CBP substantiates allegations of misconduct, employees may be able to appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB); file a grievance with a CBP employee union such as the National Border Patrol Council, which may invoke arbitration on behalf of the employee; or, if they believe the action was discriminatory, file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Figure 1: Customs and Border Protection Investigative and Disciplinary Process for "I'm 10-15"[12]
CBP followed these processes to investigate and determine discipline for cases related to "I'm 10-15." However, CBP was limited in its ability to conduct thorough investigations because Facebook refused to provide OPR with content from "I'm 10-15," leaving OPR "unable to access the group page or any of the posts made on the page." According to OPR, all of the "screenshots included in this investigation were obtained from third party sources, including media outlets."[13]