The Justice Cup & Sports Fans for Justice demand Enterprise Center Cancel the US Border Patrol Rodeo Event, and put out a call to the nation to Stop Border Patrol Sponsored Rodeos!

On Mardi Gras weekend in St. Louis, February 22nd-23rd, the Enterprise Center downtown will be hosting the two-day Rodeo event called "US Border Patrol Invitational".

Since 2008, Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) has paid millions in sponsorship dollars to the Professional Bull Riders Association as a tactic of recruitment. While the practice was discontinued in 2011, it was renewed in part because of President Trump. Over the past three years CBP has paid $5 million in a national rodeo sponsorship to the Professional Bull Riders Association. This practice is not just a waste of taxpayer money but is also egregiously irresponsible given the treatment of asylum seekers. CBP has detained men, women and children in freezing cells known by migrants as Hieleras. Immigrants are denied adequate nutrition, proper medical care and even soap and feminine products. While CBP has paid millions for these rodeos, they have done nothing to address these inhumane conditions. In fact over the course of the past three years 37 people have died in Border Patrol Custody, six of whom were CHILDREN. While Border Patrol is waving flags, riding horses and rappelling from ceilings for rodeo crowds, it has not addressed the rampant misconduct within its ranks. From 2005 to 2012, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents were arrested 2,170 times for misconduct including domestic violence and drunk driving. Government inspectors found. CBP, which includes Border Patrol and customs agents were the target of 1,187 complaints of excessive force from 2007 to 2012. Since 2004, more than 200 agents have been arrested on corruption-related charges, including at least 13 under Trump. And a 2013 government-commissioned report found that Border Patrol agents regularly stepped in the paths of cars to justify firing at drivers, as well as shooting at rock-throwers, including teenagers on the Mexican side of the border, Border Patrol does not need to add to its ranks while this corruption exists. It does not need to spend money on ridiculous displays of patriotic pomp and circumstance while children are dying in their custody.

We the undersigned demand that Border Patrol stop funding these rodeos. We demand that cities and arenas including St. Louis’ Enterprise Center cancel these rodeos because they are a waste of taxpayer dollars and glorify an agency that should be publicly censured for its practices and cruelty.

Follow The Justice Cup on Facebook and await action alerts form this account to resist giving Border Patrol a platform in our city! Follow links below for additional reading on The US Border Patrol:

-The Border Patrol Has Been a Cult of Brutality Since 1924, The Intercept: https://theintercept.com/2019/01/12/border-patrol-history/  

-Fatal encounters: 97 deaths point to pattern of border agent violence across America, The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/may/02/fatal-encounters-97-deaths-point-to-pattern-of-border-agent-violence-across-america?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

-Border patrol violence: US paid $60m to cover claims against the agency, The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/01/border-patrol-violence-us-paid-60m-to-cover-claims-against-the-agency?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

-The Border Patrol Serial Killer Is Part of a Long, Troubled History, The Texas Observer: https://www.texasobserver.org/the-border-patrol-serial-killer-is-part-of-a-long-troubled-history/

-Professional Bull Riders get millions from Border Patrol for patriotism and plugs, USA Today: https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/2798296001?fbclid=IwAR10SxoBjepOwEGy_b7LqrI9bPP5XMLpnN3njjRvI2YUInNS7JBLypHIDeg

-A Case for Dismantling the U.S. Border Patrol, NACLA: https://nacla.org/blog/2018/02/23/case-dismantling-us-border-patrol