The family of a man brutally beaten while in U.S. Customs and Border Protection custody is one step closer to seeking what attorneys call justice in a deadly international human rights case that has gripped the San Diego community for more than a decade.
Anastasio Hernández Rojas was cuffed on the ground and tasered in front of a dozen Border Patrol agents at the San Ysidro Port of Entry on May 28, 2010, when he was beaten and smothered by agents after pouring out a jug of water into a trash can, upsetting one of those agents, attorneys claim.
The father of five was in the process of being deported to Mexico.
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Rojas died days later. An autopsy concluded that the shocks, along with physical exertion and methamphetamine use, contributed to his fatal heart attack.
No one was ever prosecuted, and in 2017, the U.S. government settled a federal lawsuit and agreed to pay $1 million to Rojas’ children.
The family has run out of options within the U.S. judicial system, so they’re turning to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights after requesting a hearing to present new evidence of an alleged Border Patrol cover-up.
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Roxanna Altholz is co-director at UC Berkeley International Human Rights Law Clinic and co-counsel in the lawsuit.
“A hearing on this case is an opportunity for the Commission to not only hear the family, but also examine how structures of violence and impunity have operated in the United States government at its southern border,” Altholz said. “Anastasio’s death and the experiences of his family members during their search for truth and justice exemplify why, until the United States reforms use-of-force laws and policies, investigative procedures, and training programs to comply with fundamental human rights, impunity for violence by border agents will be the norm.”
Attorneys believe this will be a landmark international case as the first brought against the U.S., for a death involving law enforcement. The human rights commission will provide an official accounting of what happened and could instruct the U.S. to pay reparations.
Andrea Guerrero is the executive director of Alliance San Diego and family attorney.
“By shining the international spotlight on this matter through a public hearing and creating a moment for unbiased and independent scrutiny of CBP misconduct, the Commission would contribute to the promise of structural reform that Petitioners and the larger community have long sought in the United States,” Guerrero said.
If the new hearing is approved, attorneys said they’ll present testimony from “high ranking former federal officials with direct knowledge of the failures,” that affected the investigation.
A mural of Rojas was added to the Chicano Park pillars beneath the Coronado Bay Bridge in 2020. It’s a reminder of what happened as his family seeks justice more than a decade later.
According to court documents, eight officers and agents from CBP and other agencies acknowledged using force while nine others were present.
The IACHR could grant the request for a public hearing as early as October. They could also decide to make a ruling in the case without one.
NBC 7 reached out to CBP for comment and has yet to hear back.
