Customs and Border Protection has opened an investigation into an incident in which officers detained a San Diego family at gunpoint over what they said was a case of mistaken identity, according to Congressman Juan Vargas, who called the incident “tragic” and a “terrible mistake.”
“I apologize to the family,” Vargas said. “Obviously, the federal government didn't treat them correctly. And, you know, they've got a real gripe here that they're right about.”
The encounter was caught on cell phone video on Aug. 29 at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.
Joshua Durazo and his family were returning home from a funeral in Mexico when officers drew their weapons. Every one in the vehicle is a legal, permanent U.S. residents, he said, including his 75-year-old aunt who had just laid her son to rest, and two children ages 9 and 15.
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“It’s the worst thing you could have: have your kid be aimed at without being able to defend them or do anything about it,” Durazo said.
The video shows officers ordering everyone to get out of the vehicle one by one and walk backward with their hands up, then handcuffing them. Durazo said they were taken to a holding tank where, he said, they learned officers were looking for a Jorge Gonzalez.
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That is his cousin’s name, Durazo said, but also a common one – and his cousin was not the individual officers were looking for.
CBP has repeatedly declined to answer several questions about the incident, including why the officers were looking for Jorge Gonzalez or why they drew their guns.
“We need all the answers, and we're demanding them,” Vargas said.
Vargas said that, once his office learned of the incident, they reached out to CBP to ask for an investigation and the agency agreed.
“Originally, my understanding — and continues to be — was that they would do an investigation, and, in fact, they would make it public,” Vargas said. “I think they're trying to backtrack a little bit and say, 'Well, we don't make everything public.' No, this one has to be public. You have to release the information. You know, we want to see the report. We want everyone else to be able to see the report of this investigation because, you know, obviously we're in the wrong here. And let's just be clear, you know: We made a mistake and there's no excuse for it.”
Vargas said he believes CBP violated its own use-of-force policy, which says officers shall only use force that is “objectively reasonable”: if there’s an imminent threat or if someone is resisting arrest, among other factors.
Part of why Vargas wanted the investigation to be made public, he said, was to enable changes to the agency’s procedures to ensure something like it doesn’t happen again.
“Will it happen again?" Vargas said. "I hope not. But it could. But that's why we want to know. What can we do to prevent mistakes like this? What can we do?”
