Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Zorro

(18,693 posts)
Wed Apr 1, 2026, 01:29 PM 17 hrs ago

ICE Barbie's Border Goon Hit By Bombshell Sex Tourism Claims

The head of U.S. Border Patrol allegedly bragged for years about paying for sex, but two internal probes into the matter were killed by the Department of Homeland Security.

Michael Banks, 53, was appointed to lead the dysfunctional organization after returning to DHS in January 2025 under the leadership of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, 54.

The accusations span more than a decade, originating when Banks worked as a supervisory field agent in Nogales, Arizona, where he openly discussed paying for sex workers with colleagues and allegedly invited some to accompany him on trips to Colombia and Thailand, according to an investigation published Wednesday by the Washington Examiner.

“I don’t know how he became the chief of the Border Patrol with his character,” one of six current and former agents interviewed told the outlet, saying Banks had personally pushed him to join one of the trips. “He’s going to third-world countries to take advantage of poor f--king women, which disgusts the hell out of me.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/ice-barbies-border-goon-hit-by-bombshell-sex-tourism-claims/

3 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
ICE Barbie's Border Goon Hit By Bombshell Sex Tourism Claims (Original Post) Zorro 17 hrs ago OP
Why would anyone brag about hiring prostitutes? Ocelot II 17 hrs ago #1
It's the power to control not sex. Like the power to cbabe 17 hrs ago #2
You would think so, right? MineralMan 16 hrs ago #3

cbabe

(6,648 posts)
2. It's the power to control not sex. Like the power to
Wed Apr 1, 2026, 01:45 PM
17 hrs ago

control and terrorize immigrants.

MineralMan

(151,269 posts)
3. You would think so, right?
Wed Apr 1, 2026, 02:01 PM
16 hrs ago

That's not always the case, though. I was stationed at a tiny, secret USAF base on the Black Sea in Turkiye in the late 1960s. As an official "isolated" base, no women were stationed there. Not so isolated, though. It was near a city of about 200,000 people.

Everyone was assigned to that base for 15 months. There was no possibility of meeting women from that city, because we were Americans and the locals were Muslims. It just didn't happen. However, that country operated official brothels, populated by women who had accumulated debts. Don't get me started on the immorality of that crap.

So, quite a hefty percentage of the USAF guys made regular visits to that government-run brothel, generally called "The Compound." What it was was a debtors prison for women, who could apparently pay off their debt by working as prostitutes. I can't even describe how ugly that seemed to me. I learned about "The Compound" shortly after arriving. Lots of young guys bragged about their visits to it. If you refused to go there, you got called ugly homophobic names by the guys who frequented it.

So, apparently, some men are just fine about bragging about paying for sex. Fortunately, most men on that base did not visit "The Compound." So we were in good company. I was 21 years old when I arrived there. 22 when I left. 15 months without any partners. It wasn't all that difficult, really. I never had any respect for any of the men who fell into that trap.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»ICE Barbie's Border Goon ...