Pubdate: Sun, 25 Jan 2009
Source: Morning Journal (OH)
Copyright: 2009 Morning Journal
Contact:  http://www.morningjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3569
Author: Ruben Navarrette
Note: Ruben Navarrette is a columnist and editorial board member at 
the San Diego Union Tribune. He offers new thinking on major issues, 
especially thorny questions involving ethnicity and national origin.

BORDER AGENTS JUSTLY CONVICTED

I was glad to see that George W. Bush commuted the  prison sentences
of former Border Patrol agents Ignacio  Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean.
And frankly, I was a bit  surprised I was glad.

I never had much sympathy for Ramos or Compean,  disgraced law
enforcement officers who were convicted  of shooting a Mexican drug
smuggler and then lying  about it. From studying the facts, hearing
the  arguments of the agents' supporters, and interviewing  U.S.
Attorney Johnny Sutton, whose office tried the  case, I'm convinced
the pair broke the law and that  they were justly convicted and
sentenced. Ramos  received 11 years and Compean got 12. Both will be
released on March 20.

Bush was also convinced that the men were guilty.  That's why he
didn't pardon them.

Meanwhile, those who want to defend the agents have to  ignore the law
and several inconvenient facts. Ramos  and Compean said in media
interviews that the smuggler,  Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila, had a gun, but
they never  mentioned the weapon in their official reports or to
fellow agents who arrived on the scene; Compean fired  off 14 rounds
from an elevated position, which would  have left him vulnerable if,
in fact, Aldrete-Davila  had a gun; and the jury heard from Ramos,
Compean and  Aldrete-Davila and found the drug smuggler more
believable than the agents.

In a stunning display of situational ethics, Ramos and  Compean became
instant superheroes to anti-immigration  activists. This crowd turned
a wrongful shooting (what  cops call a "bad shoot") and attempts to
hide it by  disposing of evidence (what most of us call a  "cover-up")
into a cause celebre. For the activists -  some of whom also want to
end legal immigration from  Latin America and Asia because what
worries them are  demographic projections that whites will soon be in
the  minority - the world is simple: The country is being  invaded,
and it's the job of Border Patrol agents to  stop the invasion. Ergo,
these agents deserve carte  blanche to do as they please even if it
violates  federal law - the same rule of law the activists claim  to
care so much about when they demand that we seal the  border. And when
the federal government took up a  prosecution against the former
agents, the activists  contended, it was to appease the Mexican government.

The narrative of poor, defenseless Border Patrol agents  victimized by
politics and railroaded into prison was a  convenient fantasy. Afraid
of the cultural footprint  left by immigrants, anti-illegal
immigration activists  feel they're losing control of their country.
Pushing  for the release of Ramos and Compean was a way to get  it
back.

The facts were never in doubt. On Feb. 17, 2005, Ramos  and Compean
were on patrol on the U.S.-Mexico border  near Fabens, Texas, when
they spotted a van. When they  approached, they discovered
Aldrete-Davila, who ran  toward the Mexican side of the border. The
agents  opened fire.

Aldrete-Davila was hit, but he got away. No gun was  found but the van
was loaded with marijuana. It was  only after another Border Patrol
agent heard the story  and pieced together what happened that
Aldrete-Davila  was located and the agents were prosecuted - to the
chagrin of congressional Republicans, border vigilantes  and
right-wing talk-show hosts.

Having said that, the reason I'm glad that Bush  commuted the
agents'

sentences is that the president did it on his own terms  and within
his own time frame. He didn't give in to the  bullying by anti-illegal
immigration forces or members  of his own party. He didn't offer the
commutation for  his own political benefit but instead chose to offer
it  at the end of his presidency.

Besides, Bush could have gone all the way and offered a  full pardon,
as the activists were demanding. Instead,  he settled on a commutation
because he wanted to make  clear that, according to an administration
official,  "commuting (the agents') sentences does not diminish  the
seriousness of their crimes." Ramos and Compean  still "have to carry
the burden of being convicted  felons and the shame of violating their
oaths for the  rest of their lives." And yet, the official said, Bush
felt that "they and their families have suffered enough  for their
crimes."

I'll second that. I would bet that Ramos and Compean  have learned
their lesson and seen the error of their  ways. Now if only we could
say the same about those who  shamefully tried to use this unfortunate
tale to  further their own agendas.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake