Illegal Protest

Just when you think there can’t be any more said in outrage about the case of Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos, someone like Wes comes along and spells it out very eloquently indeed!  Thank you for saying what we have all been thinking or trying to say!

An officially-sanctioned ‘inmates running the asylum’
The good guys rot while the bad guys get fat

Wes Vernon

Wes Vernon
October 22, 2007

This column hopes to awake from a bad dream any minute now. Bad enough two of our protectors are in solitary confinement. But enemies who want to kill us are living very well on our money?

Time to wake up

This can’t be real.

It can’t be true that a drug smuggler illegally crashing our border was given immunity to testify against the law enforcement officers who tried to arrest him, can it?

Oh, but our government, which we depend on to “preserve, protect and defend” our system of government, would naturally seek to “preserve” and “protect” our free society by “defending” us against the bad guys, right?

I mean surely our own government would never seek out a dangerous drug-smuggling criminal in a foreign country and bring him back here and grant him immunity to testify against the border guards who blocked his efforts to destroy our kids’ lives. Surely, that didn’t really happen, did it?

It did? And they gave this guy free health care and unconditional border-crossing cards to testify against those pesky border patrol agents. Really? You have got to be kidding.

In cahoots with the criminal

By now, those not inhabiting another planet for the last year are aware of the plight of Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean. They were sentenced to eleven and twelve years in federal prison, respectively, for wounding a Mexican drug smuggler who brought 743 pounds of marijuana across the U.S./Mexican border at Texas.

Shooting at a drug smuggler: naughty, naughty!

Later, the U.S. government learned that the smuggler — Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila — had been shot in the buttocks as he avoided arrest, although the agents thought they had missed him before he reached the Mexican border because he had kept running, jumped into a waiting truck, and showed no signs of injury.

Upon learning of the drug dealer’s complaint, the keystone cops at the Department of Homeland Security did their “poor baby” routine and swung into action.

To cut to the quick, the agents ended up being prosecuted for shooting an unarmed victim, even though that “victim” while on the run had pointed at them with what looked like a gun.

An update

So now, some 48 (at last count) members of Congress have fired off a letter to Michael Mukasey — President Bush’s nominee for Attorney General urging that he “consider and address our concerns related to” the imprisoned agents.

The congressmen get right to the nub of the prosecutorial abuse question when they suggest, “Given the close personal relationships between [the federal prosecutor in the case, Johnny] Sutton, President Bush and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, numerous questions regarding the propriety of this prosecution remain unanswered.”

To make matters worse

Led by Congressmen Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) and John Culberson (R-Tex.), the letter continues, “Both officers are being held in Special Housing Units (SHU) of medium security facilities and are confined to a single cell 23 hours a day in conditions worse than those enjoyed by suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay detention facility. Ignacio Ramos was placed in SHU because he was assaulted in a different facility earlier this year and his assailants were never charged.”

Further, the lawmakers note that while Ramos’s status as a former cop is “problematic” in prison, the federal guidelines specify that “administration detention status is supposed to be ‘non-punitive,’ used for ’short periods…not to exceed 90 days,” as opposed to the 10 months that Ramos has experienced.

The comparison

While the agents spend 23 hours a day in their cages — with only 1 hour outdoors permitted each day — detainees at Guantanamo are granted the privilege of living in a communal setting that offers more freedoms and perks. Moreover, these terrorists are allowed 9 hours access to exercise and recreational facilities. Picnic and ping-pong tables are available to them, as are soccer fields and volleyball courts.

No special meals or extra food privileges for the border agents. At one point, Ramos lost over 30 pounds, while at Guantanamo Bay, terrorists take in 4200 calories daily, with weekly Sunday ice cream parties and access to McDonalds or Subway. Some detainees have added pounds since arriving at “Club Gitmo.”

Ramos and Compean eat alone in their cells, while GITMO detainees enjoy meals eaten together within cellblocks.

No TV for the patrol agents, whereas the killers or would-be killers of innocent human beings have permission to watch Arabic programs and soccer highlights.

Ramos and Compean are not allowed access to the library, have a limited commissary, and cannot participate in education or general work programs. At Guantanamo, however, the detainees receive visits from librarians with books and magazines. Also chess, checkers, and playing cards are provided on request.

After a brutal assault by 5 inmates, Ramos did not get to see a medical doctor for several days. At GITMO, the cutthroats and would-be suicide bombers get the same medical treatment as U.S. military personnel in state-of-the-art medical facilities.

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Wes Vernon is a Washington-based writer and veteran broadcast journalist.

I’d love to have included the entire article but that’s just not kosher in blogger world.. so PLEASE visit the article link here to read the rest of the excellent editorial…

It’s now been over 247 days that Nacho Ramos and Jose Compean went to prison for doing their jobs as Border Agents. If you don’t know the whole story, please visit this link at Digger’s Realm for starters on some background on their case.

The webmaster for Save Our State, Richard McLean, has done a wonderful thing! He has put up two web sites that make it very simple for you to communicate with the two imprisoned Border Agents. They are only allowed to read letters. I believe they are not even allowed to read BOOKS for crying out loud! They are in solitary confinement 23 hours a day for their safety. Imagine being alone in a cell for 23 hours a day for 247 days!

Think about how many things you have done, how many TV shows you have watched, how many times you have eaten out at a restaurant, how many sports events etc, you have watched in 247 days. Well Nacho Ramos and Jose Compean are living in suspended animation. They are political prisoners of our current corrupt government.

Here is where you can communicate with these two heroes and let them know we are still out here fighting for them.

Email Nacho

Email Jose

This message was blocked by ilw.com’s spam firewall when I tried to email it to them, so I figure I’ll just post it here and send them a link to it.

Dear all traitorous immigration lawyers -

Regarding this comment on your website: (http://ilw.com)

1. COMMENT

Rogue CBP Officers

According to a Salon.com news story, “With the help of reporters
and activists promoting - and embellishing - the defense’s
version of the case, the two convicted agents were transformed
into martyrs for the battle against illegal immigration. Instead
of rogue officers who shot a fleeing, unarmed suspect and then
lied about it, they became stand-up cops who were forced to shoot
an armed drug dealer and then sent to prison by a legal system
run amok. After they went to prison in January 2007, they even
became the tragic heroes of a country song called “Ramos and
Compean.” For the true story of Ramos and Compean, see here.

We welcome readers to share their opinion and ideas with us by
writing to mailto:editor@ilw.com.
You immigration lawyers amaze me. You apparently have not read the court transcripts that were released (after over a YEAR past the end of the trial) and you apparently have not read the numerous stories on World Net Daily chronicling the miscarriage of justice that these two border agents received. The true story is in the hearts and minds of Compean and Ramos and their supporters and they are truly political prisoners of this open borders travesty of a President and his corrupt handmaidens in the government.

http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54226

Point 1: Aldrete-Davila was portrayed as a poor one time drug runner who was “just trying to make some money for his sick mom”. This was a bald faced lie by the prosecution. They knew he was a seasoned drug smuggler. They pretended not to notice when he brought ANOTHER load of drugs in before the trial and he used a golden border pass to do it. AND they suppressed this information from the jury during the trial. http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=57330

Point 2: Compean and Ramos were not required to file a paper report to report the shooting. They were required to notify their supervisors verbally which was done. In fact, several supervisors were aware of the shooting that day and it was THEY who did not file the proper paperwork because it happened at the end of the shift and would have resulted in working late. http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54133

Point 3: The chain of evidence was broken regarding the bullet fragment removed from the butt of Aldrete-Davila when it was taken home with the DHS agent overnight who also happened to be housing the DRUG SMUGGLER in the same house. The doctor testified that the pattern of the bullet fragments also did not indicate he had been shot in the back but he had been shot at an angle which strongly pointed to the drug smuggler being in a position of firing a weapon with his left arm. That further proves he was NOT fleeing at the time he was shot - he was shooting back at them.

Point 4: The ballistics from the bullet fragment were not an exact match to the weapons of any particular agent. They were only consistent with bullets used by the Border Patrol and could not directly link the bullet fragment to any particular gun or border agent. http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53976

Point 5: Aldrete-Davila was left handed - his family attested to this and the bullet pattern proved it but in court he lied about being left handed

Point 6: Nobody knows if Aldrete-Davila had a weapon or did not have a weapon because he escaped with said weapon into Mexico. So it cannot be said he did NOT have a weapon just as much as it cannot be said that he DID.

Point 7: Prosecutors knew Aldrete-Davila was the drug smuggler who they had chased and they chose not to prosecute him but instead go after the border agents. Why? Is there some kind of connection between Aldrete-Davila’s drug cartel and our government? http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54583

Point 8: Compean and Ramos did not attempt to cover anything up. They did not even know Aldrete-Davila had been shot because he was able to escape into Mexico.

Point 9: Mexican drug smugglers do not have civil rights in this country. They are criminal invaders.

Point 10: Why did three other border agents request and get immunity? What did they have to hide? And why were they allowed to lie during the trial? http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54196

Point 11: Aldrete-Davila’s second drug load was SUPPRESSED by the prosecution - the deal they made with Aldrete-Davila to give him immunity did not give him immunity from subsequent crimes and it should NOT have been withheld from the jury but yet it was. They were sold a line of BS and now that they know the truth, many of the jurors say they would never have convicted. http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54362 http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54290

Point 12: Compean and Ramos were hit with a gun crime statute that can NEVER apply to law enforcement agents who are using their firearms in the course of doing their jobs. That statute can and should only be applied to criminals in the course of committing a crime and using a firearm. This was a totally inappropriate application of the USC code applying to crimes committed with a firearm and it is preposterous. The jury did not even understand this statute and that it involved an automatic 10 years added to the sentence. http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=56727

Point 13: A DHS memo that admitted that DHS lied to Congress surfaced and again - WAS SUPPRESSED by the prosecution. The entire case was based upon lies by several DHS agents that DHS admitted to during the trial - yet this was never revealed to the jury. That lie portrayed the agents as rogue agents who were out to kill Mexicans.
http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54823 http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54132

The fact that you continue to portray this as a case of “rogue agents” shows only that you are a traitorous group of scumbags and I will celebrate the day when you all are out of work because we have rid our country of the 20 million plus illegal aliens that you pander to.

I don’t know how you sleep at night you despicable scum you. People like you are why our justice system is entirely corrupt and broken.

Any sane person can see this case is a terrible injustice against these agents and anyone who cannot see it has their own agenda and that agenda does not align with the good of this country.

GOD BLESS AMERICA AND FREE RAMOS AND COMPEAN!

Drug smuggler had passes to enter U.S.

Critical of federal prosecutors’ use of trafficker in the case involving Border Patrol agents, five in the House show copies of crossing cards

By MICHELLE MITTELSTADT
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — The Mexican drug smuggler involved in the controversial prosecution of two Border Patrol agents was granted six border crossing passes to enter the U.S. unescorted — including two after he was linked by federal law enforcement to a million-dollar marijuana payload.

Copies of the six crossing cards, which in some cases were good for months at a time, were released Wednesday by five House Republicans who have been harshly critical of federal prosecutors for using an admitted drug trafficker to prosecute Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean.

“The whole episode stinks, and now we are beginning to see evidence of just how rotten it really is,” Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., said at a Capitol news conference Wednesday.

But U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton said Wednesday night that Osvaldo Aldrete Davila was not, in fact, permitted to travel unescorted into the U.S. after word surfaced that he may have been involved with a subsequent drug shipment.

“From there on out, he was escorted personally by federal agents to the U.S.,” Sutton said.

“It’s always frustrating when people are calling you names and spreading misinformation in a very public setting when there’s an ongoing investigation,” Sutton said. “Of course I’m being criticized because I haven’t put Aldrete in prison yet. And of course, the reason he’s not in prison is because the two agents, instead of doing their job, shot at him 15 times, hit him, lied about it, covered it up and filed a false report. But my team is still trying to make a case on him.”

A cause célèbre

Ramos and Compean are serving 11- and 12-year prison sentences, respectively. They have become a cause célèbre for immigration enforcement hawks and others who believe the agents were doing their jobs when they shot and wounded Aldrete after he fled on foot following a high-speed chase near El Paso in February 2005. Aldrete’s van was later found to contain 743 pounds of marijuana.The House on Wednesday approved a move by conservative Republicans to try to set free the two former Border Patrol agents. After a long, emotional debate, the House voted by voice to block the Bureau of Prisons from keeping Ramos and Compean in federal prison.

Aldrete, given immunity from prosecution for running the drug load, was the star witness in prosecutors’ case against the agents. He was given crossing documents so he could enter the U.S. to consult with prosecutors, Sutton said.

Under questioning by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week, Sutton said Aldrete’s card was revoked after he was linked by the Drug Enforcement Administration to a subsequent 753-pound marijuana delivery discovered at a stash house in Clint eight months after the shooting — and four months before Ramos and Compean were placed on trial.

The documents obtained by Rohrabacher show a crossing permit was issued two days after the DEA filed a report saying Aldrete had been fingered by the stash house owner as the driver of the second marijuana load. A sixth crossing card for Aldrete was obtained in January 2006.

“The decision-making was unconscionable,” said Rohrabacher.

Documents faxed

He had battled the government unsuccessfully for months to get copies of the crossing documents, with the Department of Homeland Security refusing to release them on grounds they could harm the drug smuggler’s privacy. His staff obtained the documents this week after a Homeland Security official, apparently unaware of the government’s stance, faxed them to Rohrabacher’s office.During his Senate appearance, Sutton said the government had yet to prove that Aldrete drove the October 2005 marijuana load into Texas.

Sutton is declining to appear before a House committee investigating the Ramos and Compean case on Tuesday, when the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s oversight subcommittee will examine what role the Mexican government played in demanding the agents’ prosecution.

“The U.S. Attorney’s office did not have contact with the Mexican government regarding this case,” the Justice Department said in a letter refusing to offer Sutton as a witness.

Call for resignation

The department’s stance angers House conservatives who have championed the former agents’ cause.”Johnny Sutton needs to testify or resign,” said Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Plano. “Johnny Sutton needs to declare under oath why he gave a Mexican drug smuggler a free pass to testify against border agents who were doing their jobs.”

Sutton attributed the decision to higher-ups: “The Justice Department makes decisions about when U.S. attorneys go in front of Congress.”

In a lawsuit, the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch is demanding disclosure of records it insists the State, Justice and Homeland Security departments have regarding Mexico’s involvement in the case.

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Watch Glenn Beck cover this outrage from Wednesday night’s show on CNN