Who’s
Side Are We On?
Congressman Ted Poe (TX-02)
More news from the second front: the battle for the border
continues and our government is on the wrong side. The fate
of two Texas Border Agents are on the line as a result of
our government putting the rights of an illegal drug smuggler
before those of American citizens. What is to become of our
country when our own government takes sides with illegals?
Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean were convicted of assault
with serious bodily injury and a civil rights violation in
the wounding of a Mexican National who was fleeing from them
after smuggling 800 pounds of marijuana into the United States.
The incident took place in the small town of Fabens, Texas,
about 40 miles south of El Paso. Sentencing for these two
men has been postponed until October of this year and the
fight for their freedom has garnered the attention of lawmakers
across the board.
This week I joined several of my colleagues in sending a
letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to conduct a complete
investigation into the case. One of the most disturbing aspects
in the prosecution of this case was that the illegal drug
smuggler, Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila, was granted full immunity
to testify against U.S. Border Agents, Ramos and Compean.
In a United States court of law, an illegal drug smuggler’s
word was given more credibility than that of two American
citizens who have sworn to enforce and uphold our laws. To
add insult to injury, Aldrete-Davila was given complete medical
care at the William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso,
courtesy of the U.S. taxpayer. And if that were not enough,
Aldrete-Davila is now suing the United States Border Patrol
for violating his civil rights to the tune of $5 million.
While waiting free to testify, Aldrete-Davila was arrested
again for drug smuggling and once again given immunity from
the prosecutor. As a former judge, I do not believe anyone,
including law enforcement, is above the law. However, I also
do not believe that is in the best interest of the law to
place the credibility of a drug smuggling illegal who attacked
and ran from the law above the testimony of sworn law enforcement
officers. One thing that is consistent is that Ramos and Compean
testified that Aldrete-Davila had a gun, but the prosecution
felt that the violation of border patrol policy to chase a
criminal outweighed the fact the agents were confronted with
a situation they believed to be life-threatening. I strongly
believe a full investigation into this case and the policies
of the U.S. Border Patrol are critical. The government’s
aggressive prosecution has further diminished any faith law
enforcement has in them and the American public’s trust
in their ability to secure our borders.
The prosecutor in this case appears to be working for the
Mexican government instead of the American people. Agents
Ramos and Compean, and thousands like them, put their lives
on the line everyday to stop illegals like Aldrete-Davila
from violating our laws and smuggling drugs, guns and humans
into our country. The federal government fights them every
step of the way making our border agents nothing more than
highly trained Wal-Mart greeters. Without the will of the
government to recognize our borders, we will cease to be a
country at all. The American people are sick to death of the
invasion of our country and the political correctness that
has eroded the American culture. The one nation, indivisible
by God that stands for liberty and justice is being replaced
with a nation of individual societies pledging allegiance
to foreign countries. It is time to take back our borders
and our country. Ramos and Compean deserve medals for what
they did and should be sent back to the border to bag another
drug dealer. That’s just the way it is.
|
