Following allegations of misconduct, the second acting chief of the Border Patrol was suspended from his position this Thursday and had to leave the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) headquarters in Washington, DC, three indicated agency officials.
According to a biography about Joel Martinez, cited by The Washington Post, the official had been appointed acting second-in-command of the Border Patrol last January, and has served in the CBP for 31 years.
Martinez
was in charge of the Laredo sector, in Texas
, before his promotion.
The sources cited by the newspaper did not provide details about the alleged problem that led to Martinez's suspension.
However, they stated that he was not under arrest.
A Border Patrol agent near McAllen, Texas, on Nov. 6, 2019. Associated Press
CBP spokesperson Erin Waters said in a statement sent to NewsNation that the agency “does not tolerate misconduct within our ranks,” according to a message on the social network X.
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"When we discover any suspected or potential misconduct, we immediately refer it for investigation and cooperate fully with any criminal or administrative investigation [...] Federal privacy laws prohibit discussion of individual cases," Waters added.
The Office of Professional Responsibility, which is in charge of CBP's internal investigations, conducted more than 800 investigations into alleged misconduct during fiscal year 2022.
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As a result of these investigations, there were 18 arrests, 10 convictions and 152 administrative sanctions, CBP has reported.