One of President Donald Trump’s key campaign promises leading up to his resounding 2024 election win was all about straightening out America’s issues at its borders.
It appears the rot at the heart of the issue may go even deeper than just porous border policies.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Michigan put out an ominous release Wednesday, alleging that a top border patrol agent was using her position to defraud others and enrich herself.
“A federal criminal complaint was unsealed today charging the Director of United States Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Center for Excellence and Expertise over Automotive and Aerospace Engineering with engaging in a scheme to defraud the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and lying to federal agents, Acting United States Attorney Julie A. Beck announced,” the release begins.
It continued: “Serina Baker-Hill, 55, of Detroit, is a career employee of CBP. Following a series of floods in the Detroit area in August of 2023, Michigan’s request for a federal disaster declaration was approved, which allowed residents to apply for FEMA assistance.
“Baker-Hill applied for FEMA assistance for flood damage and a FEMA inspector determined there was damage to the basement in Baker-Hill’s home.
“During the inspection, Baker-Hill informed the inspector she was not able to live safely in the home while the repairs were being made. Consequently, FEMA approved benefits for Baker Hill to assist with home repairs and for two months of rental assistance.
“The approval letter from FEMA indicated that the rental assistance money was to be used solely to help Baker-Hill pay rent and essential utility costs while she was in temporary housing.”
Serina Baker-Hill, Assistant Director of @CBP’s Automotive and Aerospace Center provides welcoming remarks at Detroit #TradeWeek pic.twitter.com/FsGSqC44IA
— DFO Marty C. Raybon (@DFODetroit) August 3, 2021
Unsurprisingly, that’s not where the money was going.
Perhaps a bit surprisingly, however, was how brazen Baker-Hill appeared to be about that fact.
“According to Baker-Hill’s bank records, none of the FEMA money was used for rental, hotel, or utility expenses,” the release states. “Video surveillance at the home showed that Baker-Hill and her husband continued to live in the home after receiving the rental assistance funds from FEMA.
“Additionally, records for the home do not show a significant drop in utilities consistent with the property being unoccupied during this time.
“Baker-Hill was later interviewed by FBI and CBP-OPR agents and informed them that she has never committed illegal activity of any kind and had never defrauded the U.S. government.”
It does obviously need to be said that Baker-Hill is innocent until proven guilty, but it’s a black eye on CBP nonetheless.
It’s also something of a headache for FEMA, which is grappling with its own PR nightmares at the moment.
While CBP waits to learn the fate of Baker-Hill, FEMA has already been on a firing spree, per Fox News, axing various employees involved in a scandal alleging that FEMA supervisors told various workers not to help Hurricane Helene victims who had signage in support of President Donald Trump.
It’s an ugly situation that has Trump reconsidering the entire existence of FEMA.
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