Lawmakers Want Investigation, Pardon for Border Agents

NS News ^ | 8 Sept. 2006 | Monisha Bansal

[radar101]

Members of Congress petitioning the president to pardon two U.S. Border Patrol agents convicted of assaulting an illegal alien who was trying to smuggle drugs into the U.S. are now calling for an investigation of the U.S. attorney who prosecuted the agents.

"These were good agents doing their job," said Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.). "There is something that stinks to high heaven."

On Feb. 17, 2005, U.S. Border Patrol 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.

The initial immunity offer covered Aldrete-Davila's illegal entry into the U.S., the drug smuggling and his unlawful flight from the agents to avoid arrest. Sutton expanded the immunity to include a subsequent drug offense, when Aldrete-Davila tried to smuggle another 1,000 pounds of marijuana into the United States.

"The Justice Department says they don't have the resources to secure our borders, but somehow they found the resources to send agents to Mexico to find Aldrete-Davila and prosecute these agents," Tancredo said.

Rep. Red Poe (R-Texas) said the Justice Department is "on the wrong side" of this case.

"It appears as though they are working for the government of Mexico instead of the government of the United States," Poe said. "Instead of prosecuting [the agents], they should be giving them a medal."

Sentencing hearings for the agents have been postponed twice and are now scheduled for Oct. 18. They each face from five to 20 years in prison.

"It will absolutely be a sin, it will be a crime if these agents go to jail," said Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.).

Jones has discussed the case with Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez and the White House. He told Cybercast News Service that "Something is not right. Washington, D.C. needs to look into that office's activities."

"We need to start asking questions and go down to Texas and find out if there is a problem," he added, noting that there is a history of Sutton pursuing cases against law enforcement officials. "If the American people rally behind these two agents, then we can certainly look into the actions of the federal office down in Texas."

Sutton's office did not return phone calls requesting comment for this article.

[PRND21]

Our government is infested with traitors, determined to destroy our nation through invasion.

Thanks for signing up to let us know.

[PRND21]

Hey Newbie...covering up a crime is illegal, your defending them is liberal and hypocritical.

P.S. Be sure to watch "Path to 911".

[monday]

"If you were a border patrol agent, you would falsify official records and destroy evidence until the law caught up with such activities?

Thank God you're not a cop."

Hell no I wouldn't. I wouldn't be bothered. Only cops who are actually expected to catch criminals would have to do that. I told you I would be hanging out at the donut shop.

Having reading comprehension difficulties?

[BW2221]

They didn't tell you about the FReeper ACLU chapter?

Seriously, you'll find all types of conservatives on FR. Some are straight-line conservatives who back right-of-center ideas across the board. Others are primarily social conservatives or fiscal conservatives. And, I guess this afternoon is a time for "compassionate conservatives." They're out in force or maybe just frequent posters. I feel so sorry for that poor "suspected" drug smuggler that I've gone through three boxes of Kleenex.

The two subjects on which you'll see the greatest disagreements are immigration/border security and Rudy.

Welcome aboard.

[Navy Patriot]

Why not give Lon Horiuchi immunity to testify against Vicki Weaver?

You are confusing law and justice. You need justice, but have accepted payment in law. The value of law is nonexistent because it has been manipulated. The value of justice cannot be manipulated and is constant.

[monday]

"Wow, there are more folks on this site supporting drug smugglers than the US Border Patrol! What's up with that? I thought this was a conservative website?"

If you are around long enough you begin to recognize the type. They are so gung ho law and order that it blinds them to common sense.

To them the results of this prosecution are less important than upholding the tiniest detail of the laws and regulations. They don't care that the end results will mean that Border patrol agents will quit doing the jobs they were hired to do and that drug runners will have it easy. Laws are more important to them than results.

[BeHoldAPaleHorse]

Obviously, you chose to ignore Ramos'account: "At some point during the time where I'm crossing the canal, I hear shots being fired," Ramos said. "Later, I see Compean on the ground, but I keep running after the smuggler."

That's what Lon Horiuchi said happened at Ruby Ridge and Waco. You believe him?

Compean had already picked up his shell casings. Ramos did not, though he failed to report the shooting.

Destruction of evidence. That is a felony.

You can't prove the smuggler didn't have a gun.

That's not the standard of evidence. It's been proven that (a) these guys made statements at variance with the physical evidence, (b) willfully concealed their actions, and (c) destroyed evidence. All that indicates consciousness of guilt.

[BeHoldAPaleHorse]

Huh? Are you for real? This has got to take the award for most asinine statement of the thread, and thats saying something.

Firing shots across an international border is an extremely serious matter. We go righteously bats**t when Mexicans shoot into the United States from inside Mexico. Then again, you're perfectly OK with cops destroying evidence and making false statements, as long as you're not the one getting perforated.

[BeHoldAPaleHorse]

Hell no I wouldn't. I wouldn't be bothered. Only cops who are actually expected to catch criminals would have to do that.

OK, so you now state that cops who are actually doing their jobs have to engage in criminal conduct.

So, can I expect your unconditional support for Lon Horiuchi?

I told you I would be hanging out at the donut shop.

In other words, you'd be on a moral plane with a welfare mother, sucking up tax dollars in return for nothing.

Well, at least that's a bit better than engaging in criminal conduct to hide your activities.

[BeHoldAPaleHorse]

Wow, there are more folks on this site supporting drug smugglers than the US Border Patrol! What's up with that? I thought this was a conservative website?

I'm one of those old-fashioned conservatives who expects cops to obey the law.

These guys didn't.

So, tell me, do you support Lon Horiuchi?

[CottonBall]

What part of illegal doesn't Tom understand?

Tom is one of the few in Congress that does understand what 'illegal' means. Ironic that you should question that.

The part that sticks is that the only thing the BP agents did wrong was in reporting what happened and they got 20 years for that 'crime'. An illegal alien drug smuggler got amnesty for giving evidence against them, and now will collect millions for having his 'rights' violated.

[monday]

"OK, so you now state that cops who are actually doing their jobs have to engage in criminal conduct."

Of course not. Border Patrol officers can't chase anyone, so their job IS just hanging out. You don't expect drug smugglers or illegal aliens to turn themselves in do you?

"In other words, you'd be on a moral plane with a welfare mother, sucking up tax dollars in return for nothing."

Nope. Regulations have ensured that all Border Patrol agents are on a moral plane with welfare mothers, sucking up tax dollars in return for nothing.

[BeHoldAPaleHorse]

Of course not. Border Patrol officers can't chase anyone, so their job IS just hanging out. You don't expect drug smugglers or illegal aliens to turn themselves in do you?

If he's running back into Mexico, that's a win. Why do you want to catch him? You want to pay for his room and board?

[PRND21]

Again, covering up your crime is illegal.
Justifying it makes you look like a hypocrite.

[CottonBall]

The use of deadly force is only legal when it is to prevent the commission of a capital crime such as murder or rape.

I didn't know that. So police officers that are after a suspect cannot use deadly force if he/she starts to run away?

Seems the odds are stacked in the criminal's favor if all our BP and police have to tackle every criminal just to apprehend them. There's nothing to stop every one from trying to flee then, either.

[PRND21]

Tom is one of the few in Congress that does understand what 'illegal' means.

Hence his illegal alien installed home theater.

That guy is a grifter and blowhard.

[CottonBall]

What part of illegal don't you understand? Do you realize how hypocritical you, and others here, appear?

I'd say it's the other way around. How about the illegal alien? Are you for HR4437 or for the Senate amnesty bill? If you would answer that, I could better understand where you're coming from.

[PRND21]

Are you for HR4437 or for the Senate amnesty bill?

Deflection from your hypocracy is meaningless.