Border Patrol detention raises profiling concerns over accent (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Why are you asking me for my paperwork? Because of your accent. I still have an accent too. Where were you born, sir? Where were you born at? Put your hands behind your back.

[00:00:11] Speaker 2: Ramon Monero was detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents outside his home in a Minneapolis suburb after an agent questioned whether he was a citizen because of his accent.

[00:00:21] Speaker 1: I'm from this country. You know what, sir, now talking to you, hearing that you have an accent, I have reason to believe that you are not born of this country. What country are you from?

[00:00:32] Speaker 2: According to Monero, agents took a photo of him and searched a system that indicated he's been a U.S. citizen since 2019. They also checked his U.S. passport card, which he keeps in his wallet before letting him go. Monero, who was born in Mexico and obtained a U.S. passport in 2021, was detained in front of his five-year-old daughter.

[00:00:50] Speaker 3: Well, she was shaking when I got in the home, and she's like, are you okay that we're going to take you? I don't want to lose you, and I'm like, you're not going to lose me. Even though I'm a citizen, I'm still a little afraid because they don't care if you're a citizen or not. And especially because I know I have a really strong accent. Speaking English? I know I can be a target because that's who are they targeting just because of our appearance and because of our accent.

[00:01:18] Speaker 2: CNN has contacted the Department of Homeland Security for comment on the incident and to ask if agents are allowed to temporarily detain people on the street with accents.