[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 6040-6041]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     LAW ENFORCEMENT LOOKING OVER THEIR SHOULDER. ARE THEY GUN SHY?

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 26, 2009

  Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, one element lost throughout the 
fight to free Border Patrol agents Ramos and Compean is the weakened 
morale it brought throughout the entire ranks of the Border Patrol and 
its possible detrimental effects on border security. Everyone in the 
agency knows it could have been them standing guard along the border in 
Fabens, TX that February day in 2005. Faced with a similar situation, 
would they have made the same call as Ramos and Compean? The question 
is an important one because when placed in future similar situations, 
agents will pause and hesitate and will think long and hard about what 
course of action to take and if they take a certain course of action, 
will their government back them up or will they face scrutiny and 
prosecution? The border is a dangerous place full of dangerous bad guys 
who don't contemplate these things. Their job is to get their drugs 
across the border and will fight with everything they have to 
accomplish that task. Agents are taught to use their training to help 
them in the face of danger but

[[Page 6041]]

even the most trained agent is human and most if not all will pause 
long and hard with thoughts of Ramos & Compean. Officers who hesitate 
to act not only risk safety to themselves but they risk losing control 
of our border to the bad guys. The problem is, the other side knows 
this and their behavior has been growing ever more hostile and ever 
more assaultive to see the length they can take.
  Agents who take aggressive action to hold their border line and 
protect themselves and their fellow colleagues are constantly looking 
over their shoulder. The Mexican government has aided in that fear. 
They constantly are directing pressure from their consulates to local 
and national offices of the U.S. Attorney's office and FBI to stomp out 
what they consider are aggressive Border Patrol actions against their 
citizens, even if they know those citizens are there to commit crimes 
against the United States.
  Our government needs to be on the right side of this border war. Our 
government needs to defend our agents who face hostility from a violent 
enemy. Our government needs to be less concerned with protecting 
criminals and more concerned with how agents actions will prevent 
further crime. Enemies throughout time respect only one thing and that 
is action and defiance. If we allow our agents to show that force and 
take it to the enemy instead of being gun shy, perhaps we will once 
again restore order on the border.

                          ____________________