Free Republic

I heard Glenn Beck talking about them the other day and I was thinking about their situation... what did these men do wrong?! They are in prison for doing their jobs. This goes beyond tying one hand behind our border patrol agents' backs; this is like lopping their arms off and kicking them on the ground. These men literally did nothing wrong yet they sit rotting in federal prison for more than a decade. The leaders of the country they swore to protect have betrayed them both and have left them to a horrible fate. I can think of no...

Lots of groups were there. LA Answer, the peace group, was aggressive and loud. The Obama supporters were subdued. AARP was there, as was a large group of Ron Paul Supporters. There was a large anti abortion group. Every one of the Pro - McCain supporters agreed that the border needs to be secured. Law Enforcement was great, horse patrol was there. A Few of the LA Answer Peace advocates had to be detained for pushing and shoving. Mc Cain was much more on point than Obama, who seemed to be vague and rambling.

From opponents of illegal immigration to anti-war activists, demonstrators are gearing up for the presidential candidates' first and only confirmed joint appearance before the party conventions this Saturday at Saddleback Church. ... Authorities expect anywhere between 800 to 1,500 demonstrators to line up along sidewalks surrounding the church, said Lt. Don Barnes, chief of police services for Lake Forest. Ian Thompson with A.N.S.W.E.R Coalition (Act Now To Stop War & End Racism), said his group is expecting many hundreds to protest the war in Iraq, among other issues. ... At least 15 different protests are expected outside the church, including...

An admitted drug smuggler whom two U.S. Border Patrol agents shot in the buttocks as he fled back to Mexico was sentenced Wednesday to 9 1/2 years in federal prison on drug-related charges. Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila, who pleaded guilty in April on charges of drug smuggling and conspiracy, was at the center of a firestorm of criticism in 2005 after Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean were sentenced to 11 and 12 years in prison, respectively, for the shooting incident. The sentencing came a little more than a week after a federal appeals court upheld the agents' lengthy...

On the 4th of July, the Campo Minutemen will join other Border Watch Groups for a Bar-B-Que at Camp Vigilance in Boulevard, CA.

If President Bush would simply pardon the unjustly imprisoned former Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, we could all rest much easier knowing that in the United States, a foreign drug smuggler's word does not prevail over the word of federal agents in the line of duty. This week, the Kentucky-based group, Christians Reviving America's Values, filed an ethics complaint with the Texas Bar Association to investigate U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, whom the group argues willfully misled a jury to convict the agents. Here is a refresher on the case for those who need it: Messrs. Ramos and...

A wonderful evening, with our gracious hosts. Congressman Ed Royce was there and discussed the Ramos and Compean Situation. The Mayor of Orange was there, and discussed the success of their Day Labor Ordinance. John Paul Ledesma, Mission Viejo City Councilman was there as was Neil Blais, the Mayor of Rancho Cucamonga who will be running for Todd Switzer's assembly seat.

No Pardon Promise for Ex-Border Patrol Agents By Fred Lucas CNSNews.com Staff Writer July 19, 2007 (1st Add: Adds background.) (CNSNews.com) - President George W. Bush Thursday praised the federal prosecutor who was grilled two days earlier by a Senate panel for his role in the conviction of two U.S. Border Patrol agents for the shooting a drug dealer. Taking questions from members of the Nashville, Tenn., Chamber of Commerce after a speech, Bush declined to promise to pardon the two agents, as a growing number of lawmakers are urging. "I'm not going to make that kind of promise in...

Daily Bulletin reporter Sara Carter was named the winner of the 2006 Eugene Katz Award for Excellence in Coverage of Immigration the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Immigration Studies. This award "is intended to promote informed and fair reporting on this most contentious and complicated issue," according to the center. In announcing the award, the center cited stories, which Carter broke, about U.S. officials alerting the Mexican government to the activities of civilian border patrols and stories about drug cartels placing bounties on Texas law enforcement officers. "The body of her reporting over the past year is an important example of...

Members of a violent international gang working for drug cartels in Central and South America are planning coordinated attacks along the U.S. border with Mexico, according to a Department of Homeland Security document obtained by the Daily Bulletin. Detailed inside a Jan. 20 officer safety alert, the plot's ultimate goal is to "begin gaining control of areas, cities and regions within the U.S." The information comes from the interrogation of a captured member of Mara Savatrucha, or MS-13, a transnational criminal syndicate born from displaced El Salvadoran death squads from the 1980s. The MS-13 member, who claimed to have smuggled...

Chertoff plays down border incursion reports By Mason Stockstill, Staff Writer Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on Wednesday played down reports outlining hundreds of border incursions by the Mexican military over the last 10 years. Chertoff, speaking to reporters in Washington, D.C., acknowledged that the Border Patrol has long known of crossings by uniformed troops, which some agents in border states say shows a level of collusion between Mexican military officers and drug-smuggling cartels. But he suggested that many of the incursions could have been innocent mistakes -- such as authorities in Mexico crossing into the United States in desert...

With lawn chairs, binoculars and water bottles in tow, civilian volunteers will begin patrolling California's southern border today with hopes of drawing further attention to illegal immigration. But their arrival is being met by serious opposition. Chris Simcox, co-founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, a civilian border watch group that began patrolling the Arizona/Mexico border in April, announced Friday the expansion of the controversial project to California and New Mexico as well as three states along the northern U.S. border with Canada. "In the name of public safety and national security something needs to be done," Simcox said, speaking...

Border Patrol fears run-ins with Mexican military In the Sonoran desert along the Texas border, Border Patrol agents say they're often confronted by corrupt Mexican military units in the employ of violent drug smugglers. These run-ins have become so regular that the Department of Homeland Security eventually issued written directives a "what to do" list, of sorts" that agents carry with them while patrolling the area.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Sara Carter of the Daily Bulletin was honored Friday for her work covering immigration in the past year. At a panel luncheon ceremony near Capitol Hill, Carter was presented with the Eugene Katz Award for Excellence in the Coverage of Immigration, presented annually by the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington think tank. CIS Executive Director Mark Krikorian praised Carter for her willingness to pursue stories in border regions few reporters have visited, and noted her reporting had attracted the attention of readers all over the country, including members of Congress. Krikorian noted that Carter's reporting affected...

SAN DIEGO - Narcotics syndicates operating along the southern border are a threat to the security of the United States, and not enough is being done to close the nation's borders to would-be terrorists, government witnesses told U.S. congressional leaders Wednesday. The House Subcommittee on International Terrorism and Non-proliferation held the first of several field hearings on border security and terrorism at the Imperial Beach Border Patrol Station in San Diego. During testimony, law enforcement agents, researchers and federal officials said they lack the funding, manpower and technology to fully secure the nation's northern and southern borders. "Drug cartels, smuggling...

EL PASO, Texas - Border Patrol Agent Ignacio Ramos could hear his heart racing. He could feel the dry, hot dust burning against his skin as he chased a drug trafficker trying to flee back into Mexico. Ramos' fellow agent, Jose Alonso Compean, was lying on the ground behind him, banged up and bloody from a scuffle with the much-bigger smuggler moments earlier. Suddenly the smuggler turned toward the pursuing Ramos, gun in hand. Ramos, his own weapon already drawn, shot at him, though the man was able to flee into the brush and escape the agents. Now, nearly 18...

US Border Patrol Agent Ignacio Ramos attorney is Mary Stillinger (article at the end of this email) http://www.marystillingerlaw.com/index.jsp (915) 544-0415 I just spoke with Attorney Mary Stillinger's legal assistant, Ruth. She said that the U.S. Border Patrol Agents are scheduled for their sentencing on August 22nd. Ruth said IF WE SEND LETTERS stating the border patrol agents have been wrongly accused THAT ATTORNEY MARY STILLINGER CAN USE OUR LETTERS WHEN SHE GOES BEFORE THE JUDGE on August 22nd. Letters could be helpful for both the sentencing and the appeal in this case, she said. I have been researching this issue...

A conservative grass-roots organization has gathered nearly 40,000 signatures since Wednesday on a petition to be sent to President Bush on behalf of two Border Patrol agents convicted of violating a drug smuggler's civil rights. Two of the jurors who convicted the agents also are expressing misgivings about the verdict, saying they were pressured by other jury members and the prosecution to reach a quick decision in the case. Grassfire, a nonprofit organization that uses online petitions to affect legislation, has created a special Web link and letter to President Bush for Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean, who were...

Mexican Neighbor Shows Rope Tricks Buddy and Kingfish Roofer 1 and a roofer 2, Chicago, Chechstan, Howard and Max San Diego Union Tribune: Interviews Kingfish Showing the photographer over the fence figuring out the cell phone Max, JJ Kingfish, Chicago Felix Cartel Drug House

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein is asking the Senate Judiciary Committee to fully review the case of two Border Patrol agents facing 20 years in prison for violating a drug smuggler's civil rights. Rep. Walter B. Jones, R-N.C., went even further, sending a letter to President Bush asking him to personally review the case. Border Patrol agent Ignacio Ramos broke his 18-month silence on his altercation with the drug smuggler, Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila, in an exclusive interview with the Daily Bulletin. His co-worker, Jose Alonso Compean, has been asked by his attorney to not speak to the media while his sentencing hearing...

In an ongoing effort to fully examine the circumstances behind two Border Patrol agents' convictions for shooting a fleeing drug smuggler, congressional leaders called on the Department of Justice on Thursday to suspend sentencing the agents pending a full congressional investigation and hearing into their case. At a news conference in Washington, D.C., Rep. Walter B. Jones, R-N.C., and five other congressional representatives asked U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to reopen the case of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean and delay the agents' Oct. 18 sentencing hearing. Ramos and Compean are facing up to 20 years in prison for...

A former director of the Drug Enforcement Administration warned federal officials shortly after the September 11 attacks that violent drug cartels from Mexico were teaming with Muslim gangs to fund terrorist organizations overseas. Asa Hutchinson, who also has been a Homeland Security undersecretary, said that in 2001, DEA agents uncovered the link between the drug cartels and terrorist groups but too few government officials listened. "I think it's important to recognize that the link between terrorism and drug trafficking exists," said Mr. Hutchinson in a phone interview from Arkansas. "While we are fighting terrorists, we should not neglect our fight...

EL PASO, Texas -- The two former Border Patrol agents convicted of shooting a drug smuggler in the buttocks last year were denied a postponement of their sentencing during a heated court hearing Tuesday. Lawyers for the agents, Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean, hope that a congressional hearing to review the case, which has been promised for the week of Nov. 13, would reduce the sentencing guidelines that apply in the case. Mary Stillinger, Ramos' lawyer, said her idea was that the hearings, which have not been formally scheduled by the House Judiciary Committee, could lead to legislation to...

Fifteen congressional representatives this week urged the outgoing chairman of the House Judiciary Committee to immediately hold hearings in the case of two Border Patrol agents convicted of shooting a drug smuggler. The congressmen, led by Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, and Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., made their plea in a letter to committee Chairman Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis. The group included California Reps. Ken Calvert, R-Riverside, whose district includes Norco, and Duncan Hunter, R-El Cajon. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R- Orange, and Rep. Gary Miller, R-Brea, also signed the letter. Sensenbrenner could not be reached late Friday for comment. "The purpose...

Former Border Patrol Agent Jose Alonso Compean attends a press conference and rally on Thursday, December 21, 2006 in front of the Old Orange County Courthouse where supporters, led by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher requested the President pardon both Compean and fellow agent Ignacio Ramos' conviction for the non fatal shooting of a Mexican citizen smuggling drugs into the United States. Compean and Ramos are both facing more than 10 years in prison. In the first official response of any kind to several congressional letters sent on behalf of two former Border Patrol agents, the U.S. Department of Justice Thursday...

COLUMBUS, N.M. - On Sept. 5, a man calling himself Miguel Alfonso Salinas was apprehended off a deserted highway near the U.S.-Mexico border. The tinted windows on Alfonso Salinas' The tinted windows on Alfonso Salinas' vehicle aroused the suspicion of Border Patrol agents patrolling a dark and desolate stretch of Highway 9, which runs parallel to the border and is the site of large numbers of illegal crossings. The agents discovered three Mexican migrants in the vehicle with Alfonso Salinas. But what they discovered several days later made a far greater impression. Alfonso Salinas was not who he seemed, according...

Two convicted former El Paso Border Patrol agents accused by the U.S. Attorney of not filing a report when they shot a Mexican drug smuggler were prohibited by their own agency's firearms policy from doing so, according to documents obtained by the Daily Bulletin. Meanwhile, the government made public Monday its response to Border Patrol Agent Ignacio Ramos' October motion to reduce his sentence. The response contends that Ramos and fellow agent Jose Alonso Compean knowingly shot an unarmed suspect, filed a false report, and that supervisors were not notified. Attached to the motion were domestic violence arrest reports regarding...

A new Department of Homeland Security report about two Border Patrol agents convicted of shooting a drug smuggler directly contradicts key conclusions reached by the department's own investigator on the case. The report also does not support assertions about the agents made by the department's Office of Inspector General to several members of Congress during a private meeting last fall. The Report of Investigation, written Nov. 20 - 21 months after the shooting - and released Wednesday, concludes that nine other agents at the scene of the shooting did not know it had taken place and thus were not responsible...

The Mexican national shot by two Border Patrol agents in a drug-related incident in February 2005 brought a second van load of drugs into the U.S. while he waited to testify against the agents, according to Drug Enforcement Administration reports obtained by the Daily Bulletin. Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila - who was given immunity by U.S. prosecutors in exchange for testifying against former agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean - is the focus of a November 2005 DEA report that identifies him as the person responsible for stashing more than 750 pounds of marijuana in a van parked at a house...

Top conservatives have joined ranking House leaders in their bid to pressure the president to pardon two Border Patrol agents ........... ......... 31 major conservative petitioners joined a campaign led by Rep. Duncan Hunter, California Republican and presidential candidate, asking President Bush to pardon Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean before Thanksgiving........ "History has proven that the mere words and deeds of a president can change the course of history and profoundly affect both the tone and direction of the nation's moral character for generations to come," said the letter signed by 31 petitioners, mostly from Christian conservative groups and...

President Bush is expected to reach out to the families of two Texas Border Patrol agents convicted of shooting a Mexican drug smuggler. White House staff contacted former agent Ignacio Ramos' family early Friday, assuring them the president would call them soon, said Monica Ramos, the agent's wife.

LEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL! EVERYBODY WRITEto Agent Ramos TODAY!!!! Read the email below from Agent Ramos' father in law, Joe Loya - Agent Ramos is receiving NO MAIL from we the people!!!! EVERYBODY - WRITE - you can send mail directly to Agent Ramos at: Ignacio Ramos #58079-180 FCI Phoenix Federal Correctional Institution 37910 N. 45th Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85086 EMAIL FROM JOE LOYA: I just picked up Monica at the airport. She went to see Nacho today and tells me that the waiting on the appeal ruling has really gotten to him. Monica says that Nacho is in a...

Mike Huckabee vowed in Iowa Saturday that one of his first actions as president would be to review what he called the “absurd” convictions of Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean – and suggested he might pardon them immediately. In response to an audience question, Huckabee said he found it hard to accept that the agents were imprisoned for shooting an accused drug smuggler who illegally crossed the Texas border near El Paso in 2005. The two were convicted of assault, obstruction of justice and civil rights violations. The case caused a conservative firestorm, and remains one of...

A bipartisan effort in Washington to encourage the president to free imprisoned U.S. Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean in time to spend Christmas with their families is gaining ground. A new bipartisan coalition yesterday delivered a letter to the White House, and another resolution, also a bipartisan plan, is advancing through the U.S. House of Representatives. Both ask President Bush to commute the agents' prison sentences. However, there's been no indication the White House would respond positively to the requests. In fact, this week a conference committee finalizing the Omnibus Appropriations Bill stripped out an amendment co-sponsored...

The White House apparently is so reluctant to discuss the issue of pardons or commutations for convicted U.S. Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean that a spokesman doesn't even want to allow questions about the issue to be finished. The circumstances arose during a White House press gaggle with spokesman Tony Fratto, when Les Kinsolving, WND's correspondent at the White House, tried to raise the issue of the disparity in the treatment of the Border Patrol agents, compared to that given Scooter Libby, an aide to Vice President Dick Cheney who was convicted of lying during an investigation...

HOUSE PASSES AMENDMENT TO RELEASE IMPRISONED BORDER PATROL AGENTS Washington, D.C. – Late last evening, Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA) was joined by several of his colleagues in successfully offering an amendment to H.R. 3093, the FY2008 Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations Act, prohibiting funds from being applied to the incarceration of Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean. The amendment, which passed the House by voice vote, would force the Bureau of Prisons to release the agents. “Agents Ramos and Compean – serving 11 and 12 year prison sentences for wounding a drug smuggler running more than 750 pounds...

SAN DIEGO -- In the Old West, outlaw gangs would sometimes try to sidestep the criminal justice system by busting someone out of jail. Today, that role is being taken up by some members of Congress. Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing into the case of ex-Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean. The two men were convicted last year of shooting and wounding Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila, an unarmed drug smuggler, along the U.S.-Mexican border and then covering it up by destroying evidence and falsifying reports. Ramos and Compean were sentenced to 11 and 12 years...

Today, U.S. Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA) appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security, to address the prosecution of imprisoned Border Patrol agents Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos. Hunter's testimony, as prepared for delivery, follows: "Chairman Feinstein and Ranking Member Kyl, thank you for convening this important hearing today on the conviction and imprisonment of Border Patrol agents Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos. I deeply appreciate the opportunity to appear before you to provide my perspective on this matter, which I believe, represents a severe miscarriage of justice. "The conviction of agents Compean and Ramos...

Democrats have approved a congressional hearing to explore Mexico's possible influence on the prosecution of Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean.

L PASO, Tx. - Two former El Paso Border Patrol agents reported to federal officials Wednesday afternoon to start their prison sentence. Ignacio Ramos turned himself into federal officials in downtown El Paso shortly before 2pm Wednesday afternoon. Former agent Jose Compean turned himself in a short time later.

While the Bush administration seeks amnesty for illegal aliens and grants immunity to a Mexican drug smuggler, it has thrown the book at two courageous Border Patrol agents. Fabens, Texas — The chase was on. The suspected smuggler van turned back toward the Rio Grande and headed for Mexico. Border Patrol agent Ignacio Ramos was on his tail. Other agents were also converging on the scene. The suspect realized he wasn't going to outrun agent Ramos' vehicle, and so he abandoned his van on a levee and took off on foot. As the suspect headed into the canal, Ramos yelled...

Media Advisory U.S. Representative Dana Rohrabacher (CA- December 19, 2006 Contact: Tara Setmayer ********************************************************************************** Rep. Rohrabacher Joins Convicted Border Agent For Major Petition Announcement and Support Rally To Pressure President For Pardon *********************************************************************** When: Thursday, December 21, 2006 1:30pm PST Where: Old Orange County Courthouse (Front Steps) 211 W. Santa Ana Blvd. Santa Ana, CA 92701 http://www.ocparks.com/oldcourthouse/ What:Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (CA-46) in an effort to turn up the pressure on President Bush to pardon Border Patrol Agents Ramos and Compean will be joined by convicted agent Jose Compean and family to announce a petition signed by over 140,000 Americans supporting...