[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 116 (Tuesday, July 15, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H6548-H6549]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 THE UNJUST PROSECUTION OF FORMER U.S. BORDER PATROL AGENTS RAMOS AND 
                                COMPEAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, as the Members of the House 
are aware, in February of 2006, U.S. Border Patrol agents Ramos and 
Compean were convicted of shooting and wounding a Mexican drug smuggler 
who brought $1 million worth of marijuana across our borders into 
Texas. The agents were sentenced to 11 and 12 years in prison and now 
have been in Federal prison, in solitary confinement, for 545 days.
  On June 18, 2008, I sent a letter, signed by Congressman Ted Poe, 
Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, Congressman Virgil Goode, Congressmen 
Louie Gohmert, John Culberson, and Don Manzullo, to ask the U.S. 
Department of Justice Office of Professional Responsibility to 
investigate the actions of U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton in this case.

                              {time}  1915

  At this point, we have not received the response from the Justice 
Department. And I only hope they are thoroughly examining the details 
of this prosecution. One of the main reasons for our request for this 
investigation stems from the firearm charges used by his office in 
prosecuting the agents. The charge carried a 10-year minimum sentence. 
Without this charge, one of the agents, Agent Ramos, would have already 
completed his sentence and would be out of prison and with his family 
today.
  When you look at the history of why Congress enacted this statute, 
one reason stands out, to warn criminals to think twice before they put 
a gun in their pocket on the way to the scene of a crime. The reason 
for this statute clearly does not apply to law enforcement Officers 
Ramos and Compean. These men were not carrying guns so they could 
commit a crime. They were required to carry guns as part of their job.
  The real criminal in this case, the Mexican drug smuggler, has since 
pled guilty to smuggling additional loads of drugs. He is scheduled to 
face sentencing in Federal Court tomorrow. This is the same drug 
smuggler who the prosecution portrayed as a one-time offender and gave 
him free medical care, border-crossing cards and immunity to testify 
against our border agents.
  While the American people won't wait for the Fifth United States 
Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans

[[Page H6549]]

to render its decision on the agents' appeal, I am hopeful that the 
House Judiciary Committee will soon hold a hearing to investigate this 
injustice. I thank Chairman John Conyers and his staff for their 
interest in investigating this case.
  This case deserves a hearing because Ramos and Compean were doing 
their job to protect our borders. They should never have been 
prosecuted. During oral arguments for their appeal on December 3, 2007, 
one of the judges considering the case, Judge E. Grady Jolly said, and 
I quote the judge, ``It does seem to me that the government overreacted 
here. For some reason this one got out of hand.''
  I want the families of Agents Ramos and Compean to know that my 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle and I will continue to do all we 
can to see that this miscarriage of justice corrected.

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