Border Patrol Agents [Update]

But not all the concerned lawmakers are Republicans.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein sent a letter to Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., urging him to reinvigorate an investigation into the Compean and Ramos case. Feinstein asked for the investigation last year but she said in her letter to Leahy that it was never completed.

The Honorable Patrick Leahy
Senate Judiciary Committee
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Chairman Leahy:

At my request, last Congress then-Chairman Specter began a Committee investigation into the case involving Border Patrol Agents Jose Alonso Compean and Ignacio Ramos. However, to my knowledge it was never completed. I am writing to you now to request that you continue the investigation and complete the Committee's work.

As you may know, Agents Compean and Ramos were convicted in March 2006, and sentenced in October 2006, to 12 and 11 years in prison, respectively, for shooting at Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila. Mr. Aldrete-Davila was a drug smuggler who had driven a van containing 743 pounds of marijuana across the Mexican border into Texas. He was shot while fleeing from the Agents in an attempt to cross the border back into Mexico and avoid apprehension. Additionally, Mr. Aldrete-Davila was not seriously injured.

I strongly believe that the sentences in this case are too extreme given the criminal nature of the defendant and his possession of large quantities of drugs, and given the fact that Mr. Aldrete-Davila had physically resisted at least one attempt by Agents Ramos and Compean to bring him into custody.

In addition, to my knowledge, neither of the Agents had prior convictions or any other aggravating circumstances to warrant particularly harsh treatment under the law. Yet, these men were given sentences that some individuals who are convicted of murder wouldn't receive.

Even more disturbing, I have recently learned that Agent Ramos was beaten by other inmates in prison this past Saturday while serving his term. Along with examining the sentencing of the Agents, I urge the Committee to look into why these Agents are not being protected while in the federal prison system. It is not hard to predict that two Federal Agents would be targeted in a prison population and that special precautions should be employed to ensure their safety.

Border Patrol Agents have a difficult and often dangerous job in guarding our nation's borders. I believe that aggressive prosecution of Border Patrol Agents has a chilling effect on their ability to carry out their duties and on the morale of all agents. I also believe that if wrong doing does occur, ensuring fair and safe treatment is essential. I am extremely concerned about how this case continues to unfold and I hope you will finish the Committee's work investigating this case.

Sincerely,

Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator


Letter to President Bush
The recent grotesque prosecution of two Border Patrol agents over the shooting of an illegal immigrant running drugs across our border combined with President Bush's abject failure to do anything about the immigration and border security problems moved SANE's Colonel T. Snodgrass to write directly to the President.

From: Thomas Snodgrass

To: The President

Sent: Wednesday, January 31, 2007 10:05 AM

Subject: Whom are you representing?

Mr. President:

You must certainly be proud of effectively representing the constituency that you apparently believe you were elected to represent -- Mexican drug runners, gun runners, human traffickers, petty criminals, the PRI, and the PAN. Your failure to fulfill your primary constitutional duty of protecting the people of this country from your "adopted" Mexican constituency by not enforcing the sovereignty of our border and U.S. immigration law should be grounds for your impeachment.

Your "open border policy" is just beyond rational comprehension. I have written you in the past about the lunacy of not enforcing border security after 9/11, and now the case detailed below is obviously the direct consequence of your protection of Mexican miscreants. This is your Justice Department running amok here. What do you plan to do next to these brave Americans who had the courage to carry out their duty of protecting our country in the face of your dereliction of duty? Extradite them to Mexico?

You and whoever has advised you on illegal immigration are pathetic!

Tom Snodgrass
Colonel, USAF (Retired)
Prescott, AZ

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In the ongoing battle to protect our borders from not only the flood of illegal aliens but also drug smugglers and terrorists, one particular incident has become the rallying point for border security advocates. This one case involving Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean is now garnering the attention of members of Congress and the White House. The question is simple... do we side with border patrol agents doing their jobs, or do we side with a drug smuggler?
Rep. Hunter, who has introduced legislation to pardon the agents (H.R. 563), says that the situation along the border "requires a strong law enforcement presence."

++ Click here to ask your congressman to support H.R. 563

++ Click here to send a letter to President Bush ---- Full Story

Mexican in Border Patrol Case May Still Face Drug Charges
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