According to the US Census Bureau, there are 10.4 million illegal immigrants in the United States today, 58% of whom are from Mexico (Randall 6). The border between the United States and Mexico stretches 1900 miles, from California to Texas, and it's one of the most frequently crossed international borders in the world. Although the United States patrols a large portion of the border, around 800,000 illegal Mexican immigrants manage to find ways to cross it every year, using methods like bypassing unpatrolled areas, tunneling under the border, forging fake documents, or simply overstaying with a valid US visa (Randall 8). Meanwhile, the action taken by the United States government toward the undocumented immigrants is equally horrific and tragic. In an effort to stop illegal immigration, US border agents have been using excessive force and violence toward the crossers, leading to deaths and injuries. The basic human rights of the migrants are violated while in detention, causing both physical and psychological damage to the detainee. Moreover, the immigration policies imposed by the United States are not strictly enforced. As a result, immigrants' families are suffering permanent separation, without hope of reuniting with their loved ones.
Many of the border agents have been accused of committing sexual assault, verbal abuse, and torture on illegal crossers (Anil 4). When the agencies were contacted by immigrant human rights advocates, they claimed that border patrol agents are required to treat all those they encounter with respect and dignity. They do not tolerate misconduct within their ranks. They added the fact that this requirement is consistently addressed in training and is reinforced throughout an agent's career. In other words, not only are they refusing to acknowledge any wrong-doing, they also claim that they will fully cooperate with any criminal or administrative investigations of their personnel.