Trump chooses to lead the CBP, accused of “covering” deaths on the California border

Washington – President Trump’s nominee leads our customs and border protection measures, and his role in investigating the death of an immigrant who was brutally beaten by the Border Patrol in 2010.

Critics accused Rodney Scott of participating in the cover-up and therefore did not have the authority to lead the agency. His defender said he took appropriate action and called him one of the largest federal agencies, with more than 60,000 employees, including Border Patrol and agents at the entry gate.

Rodney Scott led the U.S. Border Patrol until 2021, when he faced issues concerning the death of the senator at a Senate Finance Committee hearing to consider his nomination.

“Today's hearing is to determine whether Rodney Scott has this experience and the character power that has one of the most important jobs in the administration,” said Senator Ron Wyden. “The evidence shows that he fell.”

Court records show Scott was the acting deputy patrol team of the San Diego Border Patrol Department, preparing to expel Anastasio Hernández Rojas to defeat and tease him on the sidewalk of the port of San Ysidro until he stopped breathing. Two days later, he died in the hospital, leaving behind a wife and five children.

Federal officials said Hernández Rojas, 42, fought against special work that tried to evacuate him from the country.

Last week, Wyden sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security to seek documents related to the death and investigation. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's response on Tuesday did not include documents. She called Wyden's “uninformed” description of Scott's role in the investigation “outrageous and offensive”.

Norm said Scott was not on the scene when the incident occurred, with limited involvement with the internal investigation team that reviewed the case and did not hinder external investigations or cover up the facts.

“No less than seven local and federal investigative agencies have examined the death of Mr. Hernandez Rojas and no one has found evidence of actions that are inconsistent with laws, regulations or policies,” Nome wrote.

Roxanna Altholz, director of the UC Berkeley Law human rights clinic representing the Hernández Rojas family, said in a statement that the family never received adequate considerations on how to handle the investigation.

“His family spent years asking the same question: How did 17 agents from the country’s largest law enforcement agency, Customs and Border Protection beat a public person in front of dozens of witnesses on the tape?” she wrote.

In 2017, the government filed a federal lawsuit with Hernández Rojas' family for $1 million.

In Wednesday's landmark decision, the International Human Rights Commission found that the U.S. was responsible for the killing of Hernández Rojas, followed by a cover-up. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, an autonomous judiciary within the U.S. National Organization, called on the United States to reopen criminal investigations into relevant agencies.

During the hearing, Wyden called Noem because he did not produce the documents he requested.

“The secretary responded to a letter saying that Mr. Scott was basically a perfect angel and that all the allegations against him were false, but I asked for zero documents to be supported,” Vadden said. “In the first 100 days of this administration, this agency seemed allergic to the facts.”

Before Wednesday's hearing, James Wong, a former deputy assistant commissioner of the CBP's interior office, was worried that Scott would handle the death of Hernandez Rojas and wrote to Wyden.

The force known as the Critical Event Team (CIT) was disbanded in 2022 to investigate the use of the Border Patrol. Wong wrote that they “aim to alleviate responsibility to senior Border Patrol management and present Border Patrol in the best way.”

The team used an administrative subpoena signed by Scott to obtain Hernández Rojas' medical records. “It is blatantly illegal” because “this subpoena can only be used for very limited purposes for checking imports, exports and exports, rather than for collecting medical evidence or searching for houses.”

“Based on his position, Mr. Scott will oversee all CIT actions regarding the case, and all CIT information will be filtered through him to the CBP headquarters,” Wong wrote. “It's not an investigation, it's a cover-up-Mr. Scott oversees one.”

“The execution of Mr. Scott's signature and the administrative subpoena he signed is consistent with legal and institutional policies,” Norm wrote in his letter to Whiteton.

Officials at the scene deleted photos and videos of witnesses’ cell phones, according to court records. The Critical Incident Team refused to give San Diego policeman Hernandez Rojas a medical record. The scene is written with a new recording.

Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) asked Scott if he “does anything that interferes with the investigation in this case.”

“Absolutely not,” Scott replied.

Wyden also questioned other events in Scott's past, saying he didn't learn from his mistakes.

One of them is Scott's membership in a private Facebook group on a private Facebook patrol, with more than 9,000 members covering positions of racist and sexual violence.

Wyden also cited Scott's response to former Border Patrol agents and survivors of sexual assault, who posted criticism of Scott on X.

Scott responded with his position:

“I investigated all of your allegations. There was no challenge to find evidence to support either of them. But I did find a lot of information about you. Lean back, close your eyes and enjoy the show.”

A judge called Scott's post a “classic rape threat” but found it had no imminent threat of violence.

Scott defended his record, saying he has been transparent throughout his career. He said he apologized to the former agent, calling it “a weak moment” and that it was not a threat.

“Everyone makes mistakes,” he said. “I believe I do very little. We learn from them and move forward.”

The Biden administration forced Scott to play a role in the Border Patrol in 2021 after directives against stopping the use of terms such as “illegal aliens.”

Both Democrats and Republicans congratulated Scott on Wednesday on the nomination. Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) suggested that attempts to prevent his nomination from moving forward will not succeed.

“I apologize for the smear exercise,” he told Scott.

Scott's nomination hearing comes as Republicans advance budget legislation in the House and Senate, which will provide billions of dollars to the CBP. Federal data shows that illegal border transit has plummeted in the past few months.

The Trump administration has phased out many of the Department of Homeland Security’s internal oversight agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, which investigates allegations of misconduct.