Accounts of migrants' documents being confiscated by border officials prompt federal review
CBSN
The federal government is reviewing internal practices regarding the return of migrants' property amid reports from migrants who said their passports, birth certificates and other personal documents were confiscated and not returned by Border Patrol, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told CBS News.
The department confirmed the review when asked to respond to accounts from migrants who told "60 Minutes" that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials along the U.S.-Mexico border kept their documents, despite agency policy instructing agents to return migrants' personal property unless they are fraudulent.
"CBP and [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] are reviewing their policies and practices to ensure that, once a migrant is released from their custody, their documents are returned to the migrant absent a security or law enforcement reason," DHS said in its statement.
