[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 26 (Thursday, February 17, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H1073]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




HONORING TWO AMERICAN PATRIOTS, ICE SPECIAL AGENTS JAIME J. ZAPATA AND 
                              VICTOR AVILA

  (Mr. FARENTHOLD asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to express my 
deepest sorrow about the tragic attack on American law enforcement that 
happened earlier this week in Mexico.
  Tuesday afternoon, two agents from the Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement were attacked while driving between Mexico City and 
Monterrey. Today, I honor the sacrifice of Special Agent Jaime J. 
Zapata, who lost his life in service to our country.
  Special Agent Zapata, from Brownsville, Texas, joined ICE in 2006. 
His brother also serves with ICE.
  A second agent, Victor Avila, was injured in the attack and remains 
in stable condition.
  My thoughts and prayers are with both agents and their families.
  These two brave men took dangerous assignments, and Agent Zapata made 
the ultimate sacrifice. They were two of the hundreds of ICE personnel 
throughout the world, fighting the war on drugs--money laundering, 
smuggling, and human trafficking.
  I have been in contact with law enforcement, and they are working to 
ensure that the perpetrators of this horrible attack are brought to 
justice.
  I offer my deepest condolences to the family of Special Agent Zapata. 
He died for a just cause, and will be remembered as a man of courage 
and honor.

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