EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-New Mexico, says he wants answers after his office received reports that U.S. Border Patrol agents boarded a bus of Las Cruces High School students and “harassed” them Friday when they were on their way to a swim meet in Albuquerque.
Vasquez’s office says they were told that students and coaches were aboard a charter bus on Friday when they were stopped at a Border Patrol checkpoint.
“The situation escalated after agents questioned the driver, who was unable to respond in English. Rather than de-escalating, an agent proceeded to board the bus, ignored attempts by coaches to explain the situation, and demanded information from the students, leaving them rattled and shaken,” Vasquez’s office said.
“Harassing and frightening children does not make New Mexico safer,” Vasquez said in the news release. “No student should have to fear law enforcement while traveling to a school event.”
Reports of harassment by federal agents extend beyond this incident, Vasquez’s office said.
Vasquez’s office said that tribal members and U.S. citizens have “been targeted simply because they speak Spanish or their appearance.”
“Additionally, recent policy rollbacks have removed protections against enforcement actions in sensitive locations, including schools, churches, childcare centers, and hospitals — further jeopardizing public safety, particularly in our schools,” Vasquez’s office said.
Vasquez’s office said the congressman, who represents Southern New Mexico, is “demanding answers from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and calling for transparency regarding enforcement actions involving children, particularly on school buses and in other sensitive locations.”
“Incidents like this, along with reports of harassment of Tribal members and other American citizens simply because they speak Spanish or have brown skin, are unacceptable,” Vasquez said in the news release.
We have reached out to Border Patrol and to Las Cruces Public Schools for a comment on this report.
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