WASHINGTON — The Border Patrol’s parent agency said Friday that it fired four employees and suspended 38 others without pay for inappropriate social media activity after revelations of a secret Facebook group that mocked members of Congress and migrants.
The investigation began in July 2019 after posts surfaced in a secret Facebook group called “I’m 10-15, ” the code used by Border Patrol for migrants in custody.
The posts questioned the authenticity of images of a migrant father and child dead on the banks of the Rio Grande River and depicted doctored images of U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., purporting to perform a sex act on President Donald Trump.
Customs and Border Protection said another 33 employees were disciplined with reprimands or counseling. Of 138 cases investigated, 63 were found unsubstantiated. Six cases remained open to investigation as of Wednesday.
The agency said the disciplinary actions, first reported by the Los Angeles Times, addressed violations of its standards of conduct and behavior that is “contrary to our core values of vigilance, service to country, and integrity.”
The Facebook 10-15 group, which had 9,500 members, included graphic posts that referred to Ocasio-Cortez and U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D- Texas, as “hoes.”