A travesty - Border Agents to report to prison today

Two U.S. Border Patrol agents accused of shooting a Mexican drug smuggler will have to sit in prison as they appeal their case to the 5th Circuit Court in New Orleans. Late Tuesday afternoon, Judge Kathleen Cardone, of El Paso, Texas, denied Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean's motion to stay out on bond while they appeal their case. Cardone's response stated that both agents must surrender to the United States Marshal by noon (PST) today.

Compean and Ramos were sentenced in October to 12 and 11 years, respectively, in federal prison for the non-fatal shooting of a Mexican drug smuggler. Both men said they believed the smuggler was carrying a weapon during a foot chase along the Texas-Mexico border on Feb. 17, 2005. Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila, the smuggler, was given immunity by the U.S. government in exchange for testifying against the agents. He also received medical treatment at a U.S. Army hospital after the shooting. He is suing the Border Patrol for $5 million.

Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, who along with more than 50 other congressmen has been advocating for the agents since August, said more than a decade in prison for each man is a 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 was on the wrong side of the border that day." Repeated attempts by numerous members of Congress, grass-roots organizations and supporters to get a presidential pardon for the two agents have fallen on deaf ears at the White House, said Andy Ramirez, chairman of the Chino-based Friends of the Border Patrol. READ MORE ...

---

Tags: border control, border guards, Ignacio Ramos, Jose Compean, pardon To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!