A union representing at least 90 percent of nearly 20,000 total border patrol agents nationwide has endorsed and been featured in a new documentary making the correlation between Islam, immigration, and gang rapes, according to the Intercept. This narrative in the video, titled Killing Free Speech, is promoted by far-right, anti-Muslim white nationalists, including members of the Proud Boys.
In a press release, the union, the National Border Patrol Council, called the video as a “powerful spotlight on the terrifying assault on liberty in America today.” It also states that the video dissects “daily propaganda used by the mainstream media who will stop at nothing to mislead the public and discredit and demonize those who risk their lives protecting America’s borders.”
The documentary, directed by a Danish immigrant director Michael Hansen and rentable for $3.99 on Vimeo, is part of a “Killing” series, including the first video Killing Europe, and an anticipated third installment, Killing Canada. A description for the video on its Vimeo trailer reads: “Killing Free Speech is not only endorsed by the Border Patrol Union but, for the first time, Border Patrol agents agreed to be filmed to expose the media lies & smears about our agents and the crisis at the border.”
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/killingfreespeech/295276495
The Intercept reports that the border patrol union makes an appearance 44 minutes into the video, and features interviews with the union’s former San Diego chapter director of legislative and political affairs Chris Harris, San Diego chapter president Terence Shigg, and an agent identified as “Josh.”
In the film, Harris defends the conditions of the family separations, stating that it was “not as humane as it could be” but that “nothing was inhumane.” Harris echoed the much-touted reasoning by other Department of Homeland Security officials that parents needed to be vetted as the relatives of the children they were bringing to make sure they weren’t just human traffickers, and that most people coming to the U.S. don’t have legitimate grounds to seek asylum.
Shigg criticizes the media in the video for not making a distinction between legal and unauthorized immigration, and “Josh” echoes this sentiment, stating that the media purposely deceives its viewers. Shigg told the Intercept that Hansen, the director, asked the union to be in the video over the summer during the family separation crisis. Shigg said Hansen offered them a platform to reach audiences outside of the “seldom sympathetic” media.
“The agents were tired of being called ‘Nazis’ or ‘jack-booted thugs’ or ‘immoral,’” Shigg told the publication. “He was willing to let us speak freely. And that’s not something we generally get in the media.”
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Despite the union’s endorsement, and representation of thousands of border patrol agents, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) told the Intercept it wouldn’t comment on a video “not coordinated, sponsored, produced or approved by our agency.”
“CBP does not endorse this video or the contents thereof,” the CBP statement read.
The Intercept asked Shigg, who is African-American, on his thoughts regarding being featured in a video with anti-Muslim white nationalists, and if the video genuinely allowed the people it represents to speak directly to American audiences.
“Our intent was to have a dialogue. We didn’t fund it. We didn’t write it,” Shigg said. “Part of the whole thing is free speech. He has the right to make that and put that information out there.”
H/T the Intercept