The candidate proposed by Donald Trump To direct the Customs Office and Border Protection (CBPfor its acronym in English) was subjected to a interrogation on Wednesday, April 30 before the Senate Finance Committee, where he had to respond for his participation in the Research on the death of a Mexican immigrant occurred 15 years ago. Rodney Scottformer head of the Border patrol With 29 years of service, He faced criticism by Senator Ron Wyden regarding your role in the case.
The case Anastasio Hernández Rojas Pursue the CBP for more than a decade. On May 28, 2010, the 42 -year -old man, who had lived in San Diego since the age of 15 and was the father of five children, He was arrested after trying to re -enter the United States after being deported.
According to multiple testimonies and recordings made by witnesses filed in the complaint, border agents They subjected him to a brutal beating while stailed and lying on the ground. The officers used porras and taser guns against Hernández, which caused him Five broken ribs, multiple hematomas and internal hemorrhages which resulted in a cardiac arrest.
He was declared with brain death and officially died on May 31, 2010. Autopsies determined that their death was a homicide caused by power powers and discharges.
Five years later, despite the evidence presented, The Department of Justice decided in 2015 not to present charges against the agents involved After arguing Insufficiency of evidence to establish criminal responsibilities beyond reasonable doubt, because the officers They would have used “reasonable force” To control a detainee who supposedly He resisted being deported.
during the audience of Wednesday, April 30, 2025, Senator Wyden said Scottwho was Interim submEfe of the border patrol in San Diego When the events occurred, allegedly interfered in the investigation CASE OF THE CASE.
As resumed by The Washington Postlegal documents obtained by the senator reported that Trump’s chosen He signed an administrative summer to obtain the medical records of Hernándezaction that some internal supervisors described as potentially illegal.
“Scott’s office He recorded the only copy of the death of death and manipulated evidence”, Said Wyden during the Hearing. The senator also expressed concern in a letter addressed to the Secretary of Security, Kristi calls With whom I had already exchanged communications on the case.
“The CBP did not contact the FBI Until more than 12 hours later. When the agency border the video of the incident, the local office was finally delayed and delivered the incorrect time of the recording and allowed this to be overwhelmed“He added.
James Wongformer attached of internal affairs of the CBP, sent a letter to the Finance Committee in which he said that it was not an investigation, but of A cover -up, supervised by Scott. “This abuse of power disqualifies it from leading one of the largest law agencies in the country,” he added, according to The Washington Post.
The Secretary of National Security, Kristi callshe responded to the accusations in a letter sent on Tuesday to Senator Wyden, in which described Scott as a “dedicated and honorable public servant”.
“His story alludes to the erroneous impression of the committee that Mr. Scott was present in the unfortunate series of events that led to the death of Mr. Hernández Rojas, or that Mr. Scott presided over the investigation of the CBP on the death of Mr. Hernández Rojas,” he added, as resumed by Fox News.
Noem also stressed that Scott was not present during the incident and what Your actions by signing the administrative citation They were “satisfied with the law and policies of the agency”.
During his appearance, Scott did not face opposition from the Republican senators, several of whom defended him. The senator Ron Johnson He even apologized, so described as a “discredit campaign” against the nominee.
The case of Anastasio Hernández Rojas transcended the US borders. In 2016, after the closing of federal research without charges, Hernández’s family filed a complaint before the Inter -American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), a multilateral organism dependent on the Organization of American States (OAS).
In February 2021, three former officials of the Department of National Security presented new testimonies before the IACHR, where they detailed in 43 pages how border agents allegedly obstructed the investigations to protect those involved in Hernández’s death. More recently, on April 28, 2025, 15 years after the events, The IACHR presented new documentation About the incident.
Family lawyers, Andrea Guerrero by Alliance San Diego y Roxanna Altholz of the Human Rights Clinic of the University of California Berkeley, they said This case exemplifies “abuse, corruption and impunity” prevailing in the CBP.
