PBS 'Need To Know' Documentary Tackles Border Patrol Abuse

The "basic values" of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency include, "professionalism, honor, integrity, [and] respect for human life." According to the second installment of a PBS documentary, "Crossing The Line," however, many of the agency's employees are falling short of their stated ideals.

In recent years, border agents have sexually assaulted, tortured and psychologically abused foreign nationals with impunity, the "Need To Know" documentary alleges. The second installment, which aired on Friday evening, features interviews with many who claim to be witnesses and victims of border patrol abuses -- including a Mexican woman who says she was sexually assaulted by a U.S. border agent, a Mexican man who maintains he was physically abused by a member of the same agency and a retired border agent who claims prisoners were at times intentionally abused in CBP facilities. The documentary also shows hidden camera footage of agents emptying out gallons of water set out in the desert by an NGO, intended to help border crossers stave off dehydration.

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