Groups Support Border Patrol Agents Who Shot Smuggler

I had not reported on this one, because I never believed anything would come of it, but the travesty of justice in this case makes me sick!

From CNS News:

Two U.S. Border Patrol agents convicted of shooting a drug smuggler who was fleeing from Fabens, Texas, into Mexico face a possible 20 years in prison, but many groups are calling for the investigation to be reopened, saying that the agents were just doing their jobs.

“To many people in South Texas, the Border Patrol is the only thing standing between them and the criminal gangs that run everything from drugs, to guns, to human beings across that border,” said retired Col. Al Rodriguez, chairman of “You Don’t Speak For Me,” a coalition of American Hispanics who favor tighter immigration enforcement.

“The people who are out there doing battle with these criminals are heroes who deserve our complete support,” Rodriguez added.

On Feb. 17, 2005, Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean were on duty when they encountered Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila in a van carrying 743 pounds of marijuana. When the agents tried to stop Aldrete-Davila he fled. Unable to shake the pursuing agents, he abandoned his van and continued running toward Mexico.

The agents’ version of what happened next contradicts Aldrete-Davila’s testimony. The one thing all agree on is that, while fleeing on foot, the illegal alien and drug smuggler was shot. Aldrete-Davila was treated at a hospital in El Paso and then returned to Mexico.

After learning of the shooting, U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton sought out Aldrete-Davila in Mexico and offered him immunity from prosecution if he would return to the United States to testify against Ramos and Compean. Sutton defended the decision, arguing that the agents did not have knowledge of any criminal activity involving Aldrete-Davila when they shot him.

“[A]t the time the victim was shot, neither agent knew whether the driver was illegally in the United States or whether a crime had been committed,” Sutton wrote in a statement. “The only information they had was that the driver had failed to pull over to be identified.”

Ramos and Compean were charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, assault with serious bodily injury, discharge of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence, willfully violating Aldrete-Davila’s Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable seizure and obstruction of justice for intentionally defacing the crime scene, lying about the incident, and failing to report the truth.

The Border Patrol agents were convicted in March 2006 and, in September, could each be sentenced to as many as 20 years in prison.

“You Don’t Speak For Me” along with several other conservative groups and Rep. Walter B. Jones (R-N.C.) are petitioning to either have the case reopened or for President George W. Bush to pardon Ramos and Compean.

Ira Mehlman, spokesman for “You Don’t Speak For Me,” told Cybercast News Service that there are many obstacles for the Border Patrol.

“Their hands are tied by policies coming down from Washington,” he said.

“The Bush administration has imposed very severe guidelines on the activities of Border Patrol officers,” Mehlman continued. “They are very limited in pursuing people that they catch coming across. They are not encouraged to pursue people. If they encounter them, that’s fine.”

He added that many interest groups and politicians also “want to tie the hands of the Border Patrol,” because they want unrestricted borders.

Richard L. Skinner, Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security, said the verdict is a tribute to the Border Patrol’s respect for law.

“The conviction in this case is a positive reflection of the United States Border Patrol’s attempt to guard our nation’s borders, while maintaining a high degree of integrity and understanding the necessity of strictly adhering to the laws of the United States,” Skinner said. “This verdict reaffirms that no one is above the law.”

Mehlman disagrees. He believes the agents were “well within their rights as law enforcement officers” to shoot Aldrete-Davila.

This is unbelievable, our own government tracks this illegal drug smuggler down, and gives him immunity to testify against our own border patrol officers. Are they goign to represent him in a civil suit as well? Has our government completely lost their minds?

Please sign the Grassfire petition to ‘Pardon Border Agents Ramos and Compean’- do not let our Country punish these Agents for doing their jobs!

While you are at it go over and sign the ‘STOP ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION NOW’ Petition sponsored by Protectourborder.net

**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email the coalition and let me know at what level you would like to participate.