U.S. Border Agent Pleads Guilty to Making Migrant Women Expose Breasts to Enter Country

Shane Millan, 53, admitted forcing women to lift their shirts or take their tops off “for his own gratification,” according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York.

His guilty plea on two counts of deprivation of rights under color of law in federal court in Syracuse on Friday was indicative of his violation of his victim’s “constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches,” according to the release.

According to the New York Post, Millan worked at Wellesley Island on the U.S.-Canada border, but it was from there that he processed immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border via webcam.

Millan was arrested on August 22, 2024 for allegedly ordering three women to expose their bare chests to him, while a fourth woman was allegedly ordered to show her chest with her bra still on, per the Associated Press at the time.

He allegedly told the migrant women that these were legitimate and required requests as part of their admission into the United States.

In an August 10, 2023 incident, Millan allegedly refused a woman entry into the United States with her infant child at the Eagle Pass, Texas border crossing until she showed him her breasts, according to court documents.

He purportedly lied to this woman and told her that her file indicated she had a chest tattoo. When she stated she had no such tattoo, Millan ordered her to lift her shirt to prove it to him, which she did.

He then told her she would need to show him a second time to verify there was no tattoo, per the court documents. When she refused, he purportedly told her he would not sign her paperwork authorizing her entry into the U.S. until she did so.

The documents state that the women then put her baby on the floor and exposed her breasts to the webcam a second time. After this, Millan allegedly told her, “Okay, welcome to the USA.”

A second incident was also detailed on August 25, 2023, where Millan allegedly told a woman’s husband and children to leave the room before asking her to show him a tattoo she had on her collarbone.

The woman first lowered her collar to reveal the tattoo, per the plea agreement, but Millan insisted she lift her shirt and bra on two separate occasions during his interview with her.

The court filings state he ordered other women to also expose themselves to him through the course of his work.

He allegedly went so far as to search on his computer the Spanish phrases for, “I will need you to lift your shirt and bra also, please,” and, “To verify, I will need you to lift your shirt, please.”

Another specific phrase he translated on his computer, per Syracuse’s The Post-Standard, was, “For the safety of your pregnancy, I will need you to life your shirt, please.”

Millan is due to be sentenced on July 7.