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Border Agents Under the Gun George Putnam It is this reporter's opinion that in my 72 years reporting and commenting in the news, I have never witnessed anything that equals the miscarriage of justice evidenced in the case of two courageous Border Patrol agents, Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean. They are being imprisoned for risking their lives to protect ours from a violent, drug-smuggling Mexican illegal alien. Amid protests, 250 communications and statements by Republican and Democratic representatives, the two agents are to serve 11 and 12 years in prison. A federal judge, Kathleen Cardone of El Paso, Texas, denied Ramos and Compean's motion to remain out on bond while they appeal their case. Cardone ruled that because the defendants had been convicted by a jury for a crime of violence, the motion was denied. Cardone's response to the motion read, "The court finds that no exceptional reasons exist in this case." It is this reporter's opinion that the two border agents are suffering from the worst miscarriage of justice in the history of our legal system. Ramos and Compean are not even allowed to remain with their families during an appeal process. They are the true victims of injustice — not the person who entered the United States illegally, transported 743 pounds of marijuana illegally across the international border, assaulted a federal agent, and defied all of the rules outlined by our immigration statutes. To top this indiscretion on the part of the judge and the court, Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila, the smuggler, was given immunity by the U.S. government, in exchange for testifying against the agents.
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He was actually brought back from Mexico to give testimony. And, according to one report, Aldrete-Davila was also guilty of a subsequent attempt to bring drugs into the United States. He is now suing the U.S. Border Patrol for $5 million. The White House and the attorney general have not responded to this situation with a single word, pro or con. Others across the nation have. T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council, which represents more than 11,000 Border Patrol agents, says the government is sending a bad message to all law enforcement officers by putting these men in prison. Bonner said, "In addition to tearing apart Ramos and Compean's families, it destroys the morale of law enforcement officers across the nation and undermines the public's faith in our system of justice." Rep. Ted Poe, a Texas Republican, along with 75 other congressmen, calls a decade in prison for each man harsh punishment. "The government had to choose between supporting a drug dealer or supporting their own border agents," Poe said. "They chose to support a drug dealer. The federal government is thus on the wrong side of the border."
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of California puts it bluntly. He called President Bush a "disgrace." But the action by the courts in this situation will encourage defiance by illegals and they will redouble in their smuggling efforts. Already the shooting of 22-year-old Francisco Rivera has drawn condemnation from the new president of Mexico. So here we have the government of Mexico protesting the death of another illegal alien involved in another confrontation. In other words, this is just the beginning. The shooting came during confrontation with one of our agents at the Mexican border. The dead man's mother calls for the death penalty. Still, not a single word from the White House or the attorney general. The only response has come from White House spokesman Tony Snow, who has said he could not comment about a possible presidential pardon and repeats the words of the judge that the court finds no exceptional reasons exist in this case: "Border guards must obey the law, too." Snow continues to deflect questions about the president enforcing the laws the United States already has to secure its borders and deport illegals who break the law to enter the United States. Now, as these two young men begin their prison terms - leaving behind wives and a total of six young children - comes word that three members of the jury that ruled against them say that they were coerced into convicting Ramos and Compean. Cardone, the prosecution, and the jury got it wrong the first time, and now it seems they have it wrong again! This ruling by judge and jury is the most disgraceful act I have heard of in the history of our great nation. Cardone and the prosecutors should be ashamed of themselves for distorting the facts in the case. The two dedicated border patrolmen are now behind bars, and the drug smuggler is free to go about his illicit traffic in drug peddling and thumbing his nose at us all of us while justice weeps. And yet, still no response from the White House or the attorney general.
Editor's note:
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