The Center for Immigration Studies’ (CIS) fifth annual tour of the U.S-Mexico border began in San Diego this week. And, according to the social media account of a local Border Patrol union, the CIS tour is receiving assistance from Border Patrol agents.
Thanks to Manny and Chris for doing border tour for CIS (CEnter for immigration studies). Showing the truth on the border. #@wwwCISorg.
— NBPC Local 1613 (@NBPC1613) March 3, 2015
The union officials’ participation in the CIS event is the latest example of Border Patrol agents coordinating and facilitating visits and events near the U.S.-Mexico border. Earlier this year, San Diego-area Border Patrol officials leaked information to anti-immigrant activists about child migrants being processed by the agency at a facility in Murrieta, California. The resulting anti-immigrant protests generated headlines across the country and emboldened nativist Beltway organizations and their allies in Congress to pursue their restrictionist and inhumane policy goals with increased fervor.
“Thanks to Manny and Chris for doing border tour for CIS,” reads a tweet published last night from National Border Patrol Council Local 1613 – whose jurisdiction covers the San Diego Sector where CIS announced its tour would be begin.
According to the local union’s website, Manny Bayon is Local 1613’s Sargent-at-Arms and Chris Bauder is Local 1613’s former president and current Executive Vice President of the National Border Patrol Council.
Border security and militarization have been a key and controversial part of the ongoing immigration debate. CIS has consistently relied on unscientific means to suggest an uptick in border crossings, most notably in 2013 when the group was called out on their bogus claim of a five-hundred percent increase in border crossings, which they attributed to the witness accounts of a “group of ranchers.”