A network of organizations along the southern borderlands is calling on Congressional leaders to open an investigation into what they describe as possibly “the largest and longest-standing shadow police unit that is operating today in the federal government.” They say in a statement that Border Patrol’s Critical Incident Teams (BPCITs) have for years acted to cover up abuses at the hands of agents, with a “stated purpose is to mitigate civil liability for agents. There is no known equivalent in any other law enforcement agency.” “The actions of these Border Patrol units to withhold, destroy, and corrupt evidence and to tamper with witnesses have gone unchecked for decades,” the Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC) says in the Oct. 27 letter to top Senate and House lawmakers. “It’s time for Congress to investigate them fully.” Read more