CBP Found Mishandling Migrant Possessions; Padilla and Grijalva Urge Implementation of GAO Guidance and Inquire on Next Steps

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Following a recently published U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that found U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) mishandled migrant possessions, including vital personal belongings, such as medications, religious garb, and legal documents. Seeing the need for more standardized practices and oversight, Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Representative Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) sent a letter to CBP Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Commissioner Troy Miller to request a meeting to receive an update on CBP's efforts to implement the GAO's recommendations.

The letter was signed by four members of the Senate and 27 members of the House.

In their letter, the Members of Congress detail how the mishandling of migrant possessions has been a persistent and ongoing issue, leaving a significant need for CBP to quickly implement policy changes and standardize their current guidance:

"Over the last two years, Members of Congress have repeatedly expressed concerns regarding the Border Patrol's treatment of migrants' personal belongings… While CBP has responded in various degrees to these requests for information and oversight actions, humanitarian aid organizations continue to report alarming cases of property confiscation, and we have yet to see CBP meaningfully address these persistent concerns at the policy level," wrote the Members of Congress.

"The GAO offered three recommendations to CBP that, if fully implemented, would go far towards improving CBP's handling of migrants' personal belongings. While we were pleased to see DHS concur with these recommendations and commit to a timetable for their implementation, we urge CBP to take immediate and meaningful steps to support its sectors and field offices in that effort."

The Members of Congress asked for clarifications on the next steps CBP will take as it develops additional guidance and oversight mechanisms, including:

• What steps will CBP take to ensure that its guidance is not open to wide interpretation between sectors and that it is implemented consistently between field locations and sectors?
• What framework will CBP establish to identify migrants' essential personal items?
• To the extent capacity constraints render it difficult to temporarily store and return all of migrants' belongings, what requirements will be imposed on sectors to expand their storage capacity, as some facilities have done successfully according to GAO? What resources will CBP make available to help them do so?
• What mechanisms does CBP plan to put in place to monitor the implementation of any new guidance?
• How does CBP plan on amending policies governing the process for property retrieval to ensure all sectors provide written instructions to all migrants upon their release? How will CBP ensure that these instructions are provided in the person's primary language?
• How does CBP plan to ensure that its treatment of migrant's religious items and garb is in full compliance with the Religious Freedom Restoration Act?
• How does CBP plan to amend its policies governing the treatment of migrants' medications and medical devices to prevent lapses in medical care that are occurring because of Border Patrol confiscating and failing to return or replace migrants' medical items? Specifically, what steps will CBP take to ensure that even in cases where Border Patrol deems it necessary to confiscate migrants' medications and medical devices migrants are being provided a reasonable supply of replacement medication to carry with them upon their release or transfer?"

The full letter can be found here.

In addition to Padilla, the letter is signed by U.S. Senators Laphonza R. Butler (D-Calif.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.).

In addition to Grijalva, the letter is signed by Representatives Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.), Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Tony Cárdenas (D-Calif.), Greg Casar (D-Texas), Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), J. Luis Correa (D-Calif.); Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), Jesús García (D-Ill.), Daniel Goldman (D-N.Y.), Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), Henry Johnson (D-Ga.), James McGovern (D-Mass.), Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Katie Porter (D-Calif.), Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.), Juan Vargas (D-Calif.), Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), and Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.).

Background

In August 2022, after significant reports from non-governmental organizations and individuals on the ground of CBP discarding migrant possessions, Rep. Grijalva was joined by Reps. Castro and Barragán in leading 20 members of Congress in a letter to former CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus and Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Tae D. Johnson on the issue.

Later that month, Rep. Grijalva was spurred by reports of CBP agents confiscating and discarding migrants' personal property, including religious property such as Sikh turbans, to inquire further on CBP's practices in handling migrant possessions and demanding accountability after continued reports of turban confiscations.

In November 2022, Rep. Grijalva, joined by Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the top House Democrat of the Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-Calif.), and Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), requested GAO formally review CBP activities, policies, and procedures regarding the handling of personal property belonging to individuals in its custody.

In May 2024, the GAO issued its report on CBP's handling of migrant possessions and the need for more standardized practices and oversight.

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