Border agents get congressional support

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Article Launched: 08/22/2006 12:00:00 AM PDT

Border agents get congressional support

Sen. Feinstein asking Senate Judiciary Committee to review case

By Sara A. Carter, Staff Writer
The Daily Bulletin

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein is asking the Senate Judiciary Committee to fully review the case of two Border Patrol agents facing 20 years in prison for violating a drug smuggler's civil rights.

Rep. Walter B. Jones, R-N.C., went even further, sending a letter to President Bush asking him to personally review the case.

Border Patrol agent Ignacio Ramos broke his 18-month silence on his altercation with the drug smuggler, Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila, in an exclusive interview with the Daily Bulletin. His co-worker, Jose Alonso Compean, has been asked by his attorney to not speak to the media while his sentencing hearing is pending.

Last week, Rep. James Sensenbrenner, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, called for a congressional investigation and open hearing on the Ramos/Compean case during an immigration field hearing in El Paso. The congressional investigation is expected to begin before the end of the year.

On Friday, Feinstein, who serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee, called on panel chairman Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., to hold a committee hearing on the case.

"It appears that the facts do not add up or justify the length of the sentences for these agents, let alone their conviction on multiple counts," Feinstein said. "Border agents often have a difficult and dangerous job in guarding our nation's borders. Undue prosecution of Border Patrol Agents could have a chilling effect on their ability to carry out their duties."

Feinstein also sent a letter dated Aug. 15 to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, asking that he personally review the case.

Jones, one of many congressional leaders concerned about the agents' convictions, said Ramos and Compean should be commended for trying to apprehend Aldrete-Davila, and that their prosecution and conviction was unjust.

"The Justice Department's outrageous prosecution does nothing but tie the hands of our Border Patrol and prevent them from securing America against a flood of illegal immigrants, drugs, counterfeit goods and, quite possibly, terrorists," Jones said in his letter to the president.

"This demoralizing prosecution puts the rights of illegal smugglers ahead of our homeland security and undermines the critical mission of better enforcing immigration laws. These two agents should not be made scapegoats for our government's enforcement failures."

By Monday, grassfire.org, a conservative group, had collected nearly 100,000 signatures for a petition that will be sent to the president to review the case. The National Border Patrol Council, the union representing agents nationwide, and the Chino-based Friends of the Border Patrol are collecting money for the families.

Ramos, 37, and Compean, 30, are set to be sentenced next month for shooting Aldrete-Davila, a Mexican citizen, on Feb. 17, 2005, in the small town of Fabens, Texas, about 40 miles southeast of El Paso.

Ramos said Aldrete-Davila pointed what he believed to be a gun at him. Ramos fired one shot. He did not know the single shot had hit Aldrete-Davila in the buttocks because the smuggler kept running and disappeared into the brush along the Rio Grande.

Aldrete-Davila was later seen by agents at the scene getting into a van on the Mexican side of the border. He left behind a van filled with nearly 800 pounds of marijuana, worth more than $1 million. The U.S. Attorney's Office gave Aldrete-Davila immunity and free medical care at William Beaumont Army Medical Center for his testimony against the agents.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Deborah Kanof, who successfully prosecuted the case and spoke with the Daily Bulletin three weeks ago, said that the agents had no right to pursue Aldrete-Davila and that they violated Border Patrol policy.

An El Paso jury convicted both agents of assault with serious bodily injury; assault with a deadly weapon; discharge of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence; and a civil rights violation. Compean and Ramos also were convicted of four counts and two counts, respectively, of obstruction of justice for not reporting that their weapons had been fired.

On July 25, the El Paso U.S. Probation Office recommended to Judge Kathleen Cardone that each man serve 20 years in federal prison.

Ramos and his family say they have been overwhelmed by the sympathy and support from the public since their story was published. Ramos said he hopes his situation sheds light on the dangerous situations border agents face.

"This is becoming so much more than my case," Ramos said Monday. "It's shedding light on the Border Patrol and the agents who are still out there facing these hardships. We're completely restricted and handcuffed by our own agency. ... We're not just supposed to be on the border as ornaments."

Sara A. Carter can be reached by e-mail at sara.carter@dailybulletin.com or by phone at (909) 483-8552.

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Action Alert

NC Congressman Slams Justice Dept. for Prosecution of Border Patrol Agents

August 22, 2006 06:44 AM EST
The Conservative Voice

With nationwide outrage over the prosecution of two Border Patrol agents for performing their duty, Rep. Walter Jones, Republican from North Carolina's 3rd District added his voice by sending a letter to President George W. Bush expressing his own concern over the case.

“Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean should have been commended by our government for their actions last year in attempting to apprehend a Mexican drug smuggler who brought nearly 800 pounds of marijuana across our border,” Jones wrote.

“But because of an incomprehensible prosecution by the U.S. Attorney’s Office -- including granting full immunity to the smuggler so he could testify against our agents -- these men now face 20-year prison sentences for firing shots at the fleeing smuggler, who they believed carried a gun. The smuggler -- who received complete medical care at William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso, Texas -- is now suing the Border Patrol for $5 million for violating his civil rights!” Jone wrote.

“The Justice Department’s outrageous prosecution does nothing but tie the hands of our Border Patrol and prevent them from securing America against a flood of illegal immigrants, drugs, counterfeit goods and quite possibly, terrorists,” Jones continued. “This demoralizing prosecution puts the rights of illegal alien drug smugglers ahead of our homeland security and undermines the critical mission of better enforcing current immigration laws. These two agents should not be made scapegoats for our government’s enforcement failures.”

“I am pleased that the House Judiciary Committee has recognized the need for a thorough review of this case by calling for Congressional hearings and an investigation of the Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” Jones wrote. “In the meantime, I strongly urge your Administration and the Department of Justice to reopen the case against agents Ramos and Compean.”

“Mr. President, please assure the American people that those who commit crimes in our country will not be protected by the federal government,” Jones concluded.

For additional information or to schedule an interview with Congressman Walter B. Jones please contact Kathleen Joyce at (202) 225-3415.

(Jim Kouri, TCV Staff)

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Lawmakers seek review of border agent case

By Jerry Seper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
August 23, 2006


Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill have asked for congressional hearings and reviews by the White House and Justice Department into the conviction of two U.S. Border Patrol agents who shot and wounded a fleeing drug suspect.

The agents, convicted by a federal jury in El Paso in March, face 20 years in prison at a sentencing hearing next month.

"It appears the facts do not add up or justify the length of the sentences for these agents, let alone their conviction on multiple counts," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California Democrat. "Border Patrol agents have a difficult and often dangerous job in guarding our nation's borders.

"Undue prosecution of Border Patrol agents could have a chilling effect on their ability to carry out their duties," Mrs. Feinstein said in a letter Monday to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Republican, requesting a full hearing into the matter.

She asked Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales last week to investigate the case. The U.S. attorney's office in El Paso, which reports to the Justice Department, prosecuted the two agents.

In a letter to President Bush, Rep. Walter B. Jones, North Carolina Republican, asked the White House to review the case, saying the prosecution was "outrageous." He said it did nothing but "tie the hands of the Border Patrol and prevent the agency from securing America against a flood of illegal immigrants, drugs, counterfeit goods and, quite possibly, terrorists."

"This demoralizing prosecution puts the rights of illegal smugglers ahead of our homeland security and undermines the critical mission of better enforcing immigration laws," Mr. Jones said. "These two agents should not be made scapegoats for our government's enforcement failures."

A federal jury convicted agents Ignacio Ramos, 37, and Jose Alonso Compean, 28, in March of causing serious bodily injury, assault with a deadly weapon, discharge of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, and a civil rights violation. The shooting occurred Feb. 17, 2005, near Fabens, Texas, about 30 miles southeast of El Paso.

Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila, a Mexican national, was wounded as he ran from the agents along the Rio Grande after they said he pointed what appeared to be a gun at them as they tried to apprehend him. Nearly 800 pounds of marijuana, worth $1 million, was found in the van that he abandoned at the river's edge, the Border Patrol said.

Mr. Aldrete-Davila, who was given immunity by prosecutors to testify against the agents, also received care at William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso. He is suing the government for $5 million for violating his civil rights.

"The circumstances do not justify the verdict, and these convictions are already having an adverse impact on the Border Patrol," Mrs. Feinstein said.

Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., Wisconsin Republican and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, called for a congressional investigation and open hearings on the case during an immigration field hearing in El Paso. The committee's investigation is expected to begin before the end of the year.

Rep. John Hostettler, Indiana Republican and chairman of the House Judiciary subcommittee on immigration, border security and claims, who attended the El Paso hearing, said that if the arrest, trial and conviction of the two Border Patrol agents had resulted in a chilling effect on others, "then it's definitely something we should know about."

Spotted in his van near the Rio Grande, records show that Ramos gave chase while Compean circled around to head off the suspect. When Mr. Aldrete-Davila jumped out of the van and ran south to the river, he was confronted by Compean, who was thrown to the ground as the two men fought. Ramos said that when he arrived, he saw Compean on the ground and chased Mr. Aldrete-Davila to the river, where the suspect suddenly turned toward him, pointing what looked like a gun.

Ramos said he fired at the fleeing suspect but did not think he had been hit after watching him run through the bush, jump into an awaiting van in Mexico and speed off.

An investigator from the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General tracked down Mr. Aldrete-Davila in Mexico, where he was offered immunity in exchange for testimony. The department oversees the Border Patrol.

A U.S. probation officer has recommended in a report to the court that the agents be sentenced to 20 years.