Human Rights Watch invoked the Freedom of Information act to obtain a trove of documents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) — uncovering shocking instances of sexual and physical abuse of asylum seekers at the hands of border officials.

After a six-year legal battle, the human rights group uncovered over 160 cases of misconduct and abuse by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the US Border Patrol.

The documents span from 2016 to 2021 and detail instances including child sexual assault, enforced hunger, and brutal conditions.

Human Rights Watch said the files “paint a picture of DHS as an agency that appears to have normalized shocking abuses at the US border. The US should take urgent and sustained action to stop such abuses.”

You can read the full report here at your discretion, but be aware that the content is graphic.

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US border agents engaged in ‘shocking abuses’ against asylum seekers, report finds