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27 Berkeley La Raza L.J. 1 (2017)

handle is hein.journals/berklarlj27 and id is 1 raw text is: 












ELUSIVE JUSTICE: LEGAL REDRESS FOR

     KILLINGS BY U.S. BORDER AGENTS



                            Roxanna Altholz*

                                  ABSTRACT

         Since the 1990s, U.S. Customs and Border  Protection (CBP) agents have
killed approximately fifty Mexican and U.S. nationals along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Many  of the victims, including several teenagers, were unarmed and shot in the back.
The  vast majority of CBP agents have faced no criminal, civil, or disciplinary action
for their conduct. This Article identifies U.S. legal doctrines, defenses, and procedures
that make justice elusive for the relatives of victims. The Article argues that there is
mounting  legal and political pressure to hold CBP agents accountable for violence at
the border and suggests that reformists look to international standards to help guide
efforts to address systemic barriers to redress.
         To date, no civil plaintiff has prevailed at trial in a case involving a CBP
killing. Courts have dismissed most federal civil claims for lack ofjurisdiction or after
finding the  U.S. government  or CBP   agent  has immunity.  Federal legislation,
specifically the Westfall Act, effectively bars state-law tort claims in this context. As
for criminal charges, federal prosecutors have declined to bring charges in all cases
but one and the few state prosecutions have rarely resulted in a guilty verdict.
         There is, however, mounting legal and political pressure to hold CBP agents
accountable for border killings. In 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide
whether  the U.S. Constitution protects foreign nationals killed in foreign territory by
CBP   agents. The  U.S. Department  of Justice recently brought criminal charges
against a CBP  agent for a border killing for the first time in the CBP's nearly 100-
year history. The Mexican government is also investigating multiple deaths and issued
an  arrest warrant for a CBP  agent who  killed an unarmed Mexican  teenager. In
addition, international human rights bodies have denounced the United States for use
of excessive force and the failure to track or adequately investigate border deaths.
         This Article discusses doctrines and defenses such as sovereign and qualified
immunity, extraterritoriality, and the WestfallAct that have led to the dismissal ofcivil
suits and the closing of criminal investigations without pursuing charges. But legal
doctrines do not alone explain the lack of accountability institutional policies and
practices also play a critical role. This Article argues that international human rights
standards reveal how far U.S. law enforcement has strayed from global standards in
preventing the excessive use offorce and serves as a guide to identify and address the
systemic barriers to redress faced by victims'families.


DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.15779/Z383N20D3F
         *. Roxanna Altholz is an Acting Clinical Professor and Associate Director, International Human
Rights Law Clinic, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. The author is grateful for the research
and editorial assistance of Yasmin Emrani, an associate at Proskauer Rose LLP and a graduate of Berkeley
Law.
         1. Hernandez v. Mesa, 137 S. Ct. 291 (2016) (granting certiorari).

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