House Democrats call for border chief's resignation over participation in racist Facebook group

We’re soon approaching a month since we found out that Border Patrol Chief Carla Provost was a member of the not-so-secret Facebook group where current and former agents spewed racist and violent shit about immigrants and Democratic legislators …. and she is still on the job in her full capacity. In a letter to the Department of Homeland Security secretary, nearly three dozen House Democrats called for Provost’s resignation.

“We, the undersigned members of Congress, request that you immediately request the resignation of Carla Provost, Chief of the U.S. Border Patrol, who has lost the public’s confidence that she can faithfully execute the responsibilities of her position without bias or prejudice,” 34 House Democrats tell acting Sec. Kevin McAleenan. “Ms. Provost was a willing participant in a secret Facebook group used by employees of her agency to share contemptible and atrocious commentary that stokes racist and xenophobic tropes that have no place in private, much less in public service.”

“In postings, members mocked the deaths of migrants, posted about throwing burritos at Latino members of Congress, and targeted Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) with fake illustrations of her engaging in oral sex with migrants and President Donald Trump,” Vox reported, though the image is clearly her being sexually assaulted. In another posting, members accused Democrats of faking the horrific drowning deaths of an asylum-seeker and his baby in June, saying “I HAVE NEVER SEEN FLOATERS LIKE THIS, could this be another edited photo. We’ve all seen the dems and liberal parties do some pretty sick things.”

The legislators note that while Provost said there would be an investigation into any inappropriate behavior by her employees, “conspicuously absent from her statement was an admission that she had been a member of the Facebook group for months,” nor was there “an explanation as to why she hadn’t already alerted DHS of the Facebook group.” In front of Congress late last month, Provost said she really didn’t know that the racist and vile group was racist and vile, claiming she “didn’t think anything of it at the time.”

Provost is still in her post, and border agents who mocked the death of a migrant child under their watch have appeared to receive nothing but slaps on the wrist, like “cease and desist letters” or “administrative duties pending investigation,” the legislators continued. How many might return to taking children and their families into custody after mocking them is unknown, and terrifying. “These Facebook posts suggest that the culprit is not just lack of resources,” they continue, “but a level of malice that has no place in the policing of our borders.” There must be accountability—and that includes Provost’s resignation.

from Daily Kos https://ift.tt/2KzqQfx