In regarding the cases of two U.S. Border Patrol agents, Jose Alonso Compean and Ignacio Ramos, who are about to begin serving prison terms of 11 and 12 years in connection with the shooting and wounding last year of a drug-smuggling suspect as he fled across the U.S. border into Mexico. One of the agents was an eight-year veterans of the Naval Reserve and a former nominee for Border Patrol Agent of the Year.
For the Justice Department, which rightly ranks border security as a national priority, the case is now posing some embarrassing questions. For example, as one of the convicted agents asked, if border patrol agents aren't allowed by policy to pursue fleeing criminal suspects without first getting a supervisor's approval, how are they supposed to apprehend fleeing terrorist suspects or drug smugglers?
The conviction and sentencing of the two agents last fall on a charge of discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence--which carries an automatic 10-year sentence--illustrates the need for a congressional review of Border Patrol policies. Members of the House have written the U.S. Attorney General and President Bush about a pardon, and the Senate Judiciary Committee has been asked to hold hearings.
Meanwhile, Agents Compean and Ramos have every right to exhaust all possible legal appeals of their convictions, including delving into reports that three jurors said they were coerced into voting guilty in the case. The agents may also seek a presidential pardon.
Although I do not serve on the Judiciary panel, I will urge my colleagues there to proceed with a review of agency policies. If there's one thing Congress needs to do, it is to make sure our law enforcement officials have the tools necessary to secure our borders. Please don't hesitate to contact me about this or any other issue in the future.
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