Border Justice : How the Government Betrayed Two Border Agents and Ignited a Political Firestorm

by Lucas, Fred

• ISBN13: 9781597974196
• ISBN10: 1597974196
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-07-30
• Publisher: Potomac Books Inc
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Summary

On February 17, 2005, two border patrol agents, Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, were pursuing a suspected drug smuggler, Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila, after he crossed the border from Mexico into El Paso, Texas, when things went terribly wrong. A high-speed chase ended when the suspect got out of his van, confronted his pursuers physically, and then fled on foot. Thinking that the suspect was waving a gun, the officers fired at him multiple times, hitting him once. Aldrete-Davila, who says he was unarmed, crossed back into Mexico. As a result of their actions, Ramos and Compean were sentenced to eleven years and twelve years in jail, respectively. The high-powered, well-connected, and overzealous federal prosecutor in Texas declared that the conviction upheld the rule of law. But many in Congress and the media contend that the agents were just doing their jobs. Those holding this view were incensed when federal investigators misled Congress on several key points of the case. Border patrol agents complain that the outcome of the trial will have a "chilling effect" on agents who want to do their duty. Fred Lucas, who has reported on the case thoroughly, details the personalities involved, the trial, the outrage, and the publicity that this issue continues to elicit. Readers interested in U.S. immigration policy and the American justice system will find Border Justice an engaging and compelling story.