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An El Paso Times story out Sunday described a U.S Border Patrol Agent mounted on horseback wielding a whip, yelling at Haitians attempting to cross the Rio Grande to get into the U.S. “The agent swung his whip menacingly,” the story says, “charging his horse toward the men in the river who were trying to return to an encampment under the international bridge in Del Rio after buying food and water in Ciudad Acuña, Mexico.” An Al Jazeera report showed another mounted Border Patrol officer shouting expletives at Haitian migrants. On Monday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that she did not think anyone seeing that footage “would think it was acceptable or appropriate.” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said his department would investigate the report. Reuters
In other national immigration news…
Cryptocurrency Company Secures $1.36 Million Contract with ICE
Coinbase, a platform to buy and sell cryptocurrency, has secured a $1.36 million contract with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. It’s the company’s largest federal contract so far, and its second contract with ICE. Last month, Coinbase received $29,000 to administer “forensics software” to ICE. The new contract begins with an “obligation” to pay Coinbase $455,000, but that goes up to $1,36 million if “all the contract’s options are exercised and Coinbase completes all its obligations,” VICE reported. The specifics of the contract are unclear, though in the federal procurement data system the contract is categorized as “IT and Telecom – Business application/Application development software as a service.” VICE
Third Employee Charged At Now-Shuttered Unaccompanied Migrant Child Facility
A third employee at a Tennessee facility that houses unaccompanied migrant children is now facing a charge of sexual battery by an authority figure, according to Chattanooga Police. The facility, called La Casa de Sidney, is operated by the Baptiste Group, which contracted with the federal government to house migrant children. Earlier this summer after a second employee was hit with a sexual battery charge, the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services suspended the Baptiste Group’s license to operate the facility. The third former employee who was charged and worked at La Casa de Sidney had an inappropriate relationship with a 16-year-old who was staying at the facility, according to police reports. WTVC-TV NewsChannel 9 News
Children of Farmworkers Overcome Hurdles in U.S. Education System
In Oregon, children of farmworkers are taking advantage of educational opportunities their parents weren’t able to have. Teenagers soon graduating high school are thinking back on how they surmounted barriers while “taking on experiences that in some cases may be new for the entire family” and keeping their connections to their families and cultures. On average, most U.S. farm workers have schooling through ninth grade, while and 35% of farmworkers stopped in sixth grade or earlier, according to a survey from the National Agricultural Workers’ Survey. Now, the children of farmworkers are applying for and starting college, despite many noting that the system was not built for them. Salem Statesman Journal
Vietnamese Americans Assist Afghan Refugees
As Afghans tried to desperately flee their country on any flights they could out of Kabul, the images reminded some Vietnamese individuals of what it was like to escape Saigon more than 40 years ago. The crisis in Afghanistan has pushed many Vietnamese Americans to help Afghan refugees by donating to aid groups, giving legal assistance and providing housing to anyone in need. Thuy Do, a 39-year-old doctor in Seattle, offered her vacant rental home to refugee resettlement groups looking to house Afghan refugees. “We were them 40 years ago,” Do said, as she was reminded of her own parents’ fight to leave Saigon after Vietnam fell to communist rule. Associated Press