PBS Investigates Excessive Force at the Border

The ACLU of New Mexico will be featured tonight on PBS’ Need to Know.

In partnership with the Investigative Fund of the Nation Institute, Need to Know investigates whether U.S. border agents have been using excessive force in an effort to curb illegal immigration. Eight people have been killed along the border in the past two years. One man died a short time after being beaten and tased, an event recorded by two eyewitnesses whose video is the centerpiece of the report. Both eyewitnesses say the man offered little or no resistance. One told Need to Know that she felt like she watched someone being “murdered,” and the San Diego coroner’s office classified the death as a “homicide.”

%3Ciframe%20width%3D%22480%22%20height%3D%22274%22%20frameborder%3D%220%22%20src%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FBiHvKOlpUb8%3Fautoplay%3D1%26version%3D3%22%20allowfullscreen%3D%22%22%3E%3C%2Fiframe%3E

Privacy statement. This embed will serve content from youtube.com.

Please note that by playing this clip You Tube and Google will place a long-term cookie on your computer. Please see You Tube's privacy statement on their website and Google's privacy statement on theirs to learn more. To view the ACLU's privacy statement, click here.

The report raises questions about accountability. Because border agents are part of the Department of Homeland Security, they are not subjected to the same public scrutiny as police officers who use their weapons. It also questions whether, in the rush to secure the border, agents are being adequately trained. And it raises the question: why aren’t these cases being prosecuted?

Watch the full segment tonight on PBS.

Learn more about immigration enforcement: Sign up for breaking news alerts, follow us on Twitter, and like us on Facebook.