Justice for Border Agents

The Washington Times reported today that the Senate Judiciary committee will hold hearings next Tuesday on the punishment of two border agents.

"Ignacio Ramos, 37, and Jose Alonso Compean, 28, were sentenced in October to 11- and 12-year prison terms, respectively, for shooting Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila, a Mexican national, as he fled into Mexico after abandoning 743 pounds of marijuana near Fabens, Texas."

"Border Patrol agents have a difficult and often dangerous job in guarding our nation's borders," [Senator Diane Feinstein] said in letters to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. "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 am extremely concerned about how this case continues to unfold," she said.

While Senator Feinstein is normally wrong on most issues, she certainly does not dissapoint here. She is absolutely right. Not only does the Border Patrol have to worry about automatic rifles and drug smugglers, but now, agents also have to worry about federal prosecution.

Not only did the government prosecute these two heros, but it proceeded to give both medical attention and full immunity to the known drug smuggler. An article in WorldNetDaily.com puts things in perspective.

"When Border Patrol Agent Ignacio Ramos pulled the trigger last February, all he knew was that his partner was lying on the ground behind him – bloodied from a struggle with a fleeing suspect – shots had been fired and now, it appeared, the drug smuggler he was pursuing had turned toward him with what looked to be a gun in his hand.

In the split-second he had to respond, Ramos determined the course of his and his partner's lives – federal prison for the next 20 years for assault with serious bodily injury, assault with a deadly weapon, discharging of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, violating civil rights and obstruction of justice. "

Both of these agents were named Men of the Year on FrontPageMag.com.

Hopefully, after review of the events, the committee will recommend, and President Bush will grant, a commutation, if not a full pardon to these two men.