"The cartels run the border down here,” says Aaron Veckey, a United States Border Patrol agent with 19 years of service, stepping forward to expose the horrific conditions at the U.S.-Mexico border. Inspired by fellow whistleblower Zachary Apotheker, featured in “Line in the Sand,” Veckey brings OMG onsite to his Customs and Border Protection patrol station in Ajo, Arizona, to reveal the disturbing truth.
“Where I first saw it [human rights violations] was here, underneath that canopy there,” Veckey shares. “It was just men, women, and children… They were freezing. It was at least 40 degrees.” He describes another instance of extreme conditions, adding, “You got 50 Muslims, 50 Sikhs, 50 Christians, 50 whatever, and they're fighting over shade.”
“If they have a thousand bodies for us, as fast as they can bring us bodies, we pick them up as fast and we push them all into this parking lot.” He adds, “They have pushed us around through fear, through browbeating us. They've ordered us to do stuff,” highlighting how U.S. Border Patrol agents are often forced between cartel operations and bureaucratic pressure to keep quiet.
Bringing these atrocities to the attention of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), Veckey filed reports detailing the violations, only to be met with a cease and desist letter, ordering him to stay silent. Despite being ordered to remain silent, Veckey is sacrificing his future for justice.
