[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 17]
[House]
[Page 24098]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




THE UNJUST PROSECUTION OF FORMER 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, today is the 237th day of 
incarceration for two former U.S. Border Patrol agents. Agent Ramos and 
Compean were convicted in March of 2006 for shooting a Mexican drug 
smuggler who brought 743 pounds of marijuana across our border into 
Texas. These agents have now been in prison for more than 7 months.
  Since the agents' conviction, thousands of American citizens and 
dozens of Members of Congress have asked President Bush to pardon these 
two men. Mr. Speaker, many in this country are disappointed that the 
present sentence of Scooter Libby was commuted while these two law 
enforcement officers are still in prison. Mr. Libby did not spend one 
day in prison; yet two decorated Border Patrol agents with exemplary 
records, who were doing their duty to protect the American people from 
an illegal alien drug smuggler, are serving 11- and 12-year prison 
sentences. By attempting to apprehend an illegal alien drug smuggler, 
these agents were enforcing our laws, not breaking them.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Judiciary Chairman John Conyers for his 
concern and interest in this case. I also want to thank Foreign Affairs 
Subcommittee Chairman Bill Delahunt, who, prior to the August recess, 
held a hearing to examine the Mexican Government's influence in this 
case. I am hopeful that Chairman John Conyers will see to it that the 
House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing within the next 30 to 45 
days to fully examine this case.
  While the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on this case in 
July, additional questions remain about how this prosecution was 
initiated and how the U.S. Attorney's Office proceeded in this case. 
Since that time, it has become clear that not only did the prosecution 
prevent the jury from hearing evidence that the smuggler brought a 
second load of drugs across our border, but the smuggler was given free 
access to our country during and after the second smuggling incident.
  The American people want to know, why did the U.S. Attorney's Office 
continue to prosecute these two border agents even after the 
credibility of the drug smuggler was shattered? This is a question that 
U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton needs to answer. By shedding light on the 
questionable actions of the prosecution in this case, I am hopeful that 
this gross miscarriage of justice can be corrected.
  Before closing, Mr. Speaker, I call on the White House again to look 
seriously at the situation. These two border agents are Hispanic 
Americans who have served this Nation, and they have a right to 
justice. This is an example of an injustice.

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