U.S. Border Patrol agents were caught on video trying to illegally deport a mentally unstable man who they did not identify to Mexico by falsely claiming he wasn't in their custody in a video obtained by NBC News.
The incident, which happened March 27, 2017, along the border in Calexico, California, sparked a complaint by Mexican officials.
It was in an area where agents are known for using to covertly deport migrants, according to a source close to the Mexican government.
Following the complaint, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection conducted an investigation that resulted in the agents being reprimanded.
The CBP insisted that the footage only depicted an "isolated incident."
Assistant Chief Patrol Agent David Kim said that "in the video, our actions were not consistent with our normal procedures. Corrective action was taken to ensure all our agents understand their responsibilities of adhering to established processes, practices, and policies."
However, NBC reported that a recent survey by the American Immigration Council of 600 immigrants who were sent back to Mexico showed that more than half did not receive their repatriation documents and just as many were not asked if they feared returning home, the preliminary question for determining asylum claims.
Mexican nationals can be sent back across the border only if they are properly repatriated through the Mexican consulate, a process that includes fingerprinting and confirming the person's identity, according to an agreement between the U.S. and Mexico.
If a migrant turns out not to be Mexican, he must be deported by plane back to his or her home country.
In the video, the U.S, border agents eventually allowed the man to stay on the American side of the border, where they lost track of him for nearly a month, until he was finally taken to be processed at the Mexican consulate.
It turned out he was in fact a Mexican national and had been arrested 16 times for illegal entry to the U.S.
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