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American Hispanics Rally Behind Border Patrol Officers Facing Prison for Protecting their Communities


Washington, D.C.--(HISPANIC PR WIRE)--August 24, 2006--Rampant lawlessness along the U.S.-Mexico border is of great concern to all Americans, but for the people who live in communities along the border, it is a daily threat to their safety and security. For these largely American Hispanic communities, the Border Patrol amounts to an overstressed and outmanned line of protection for communities under siege. In fact, these communities are so overwhelmed by illegal immigrants and the crime that comes with them, that Arizona and New Mexico have been forced to declare states of emergency at critical points over the past few years.

You Don’t Speak for Me! (YDSFM), a national coalition of American Hispanics who favor tighter immigration enforcement, has joined with thousands of other Americans in support of two Border Patrol officers who face as much a 20 years in prison for wounding a Mexican drug smuggler who had assaulted them and then tried to escape. Calling the convictions of Officers Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean, “a gross miscarriage of justice,” YDSFM is joining a national campaign to re-open their cases.

“These two officers have become pawns in a political campaign to make sure the laws against illegal immigration in this country are made as difficult as possible to enforce,” charged retired Col. Al Rodriguez, chairman of YDSFM. “If Officers Ramos and Compean had been serving in any police department in America, instead of the Border Patrol, they would have received medals and had their picture taken with the mayor. Instead, they face a possible 20-year prison sentence for upsetting the political interest groups that want to tie the hands of the people who protect our borders.”

YDSFM is part of a national bipartisan coalition that is seeking a federal investigation into the events that led to the convictions of Ramos and Compean. A web site, http://www.justiceforborderpatrol.com has been established to aid the two officers and their families.

YDSFM is also concerned that the chilling effect that the convictions of Ramos and Compean will have on other Border Patrol officers will further endanger innocent people – many American Hispanics – who live with the daily specter of organized crime syndicates running roughshod over their communities. “The people who live in South Texas have become hostages to criminal organizations that use their communities as a gateway to America,” Rodriguez said. “Unfortunately armed militias effectively taking over control of towns and communities does not happen only in Lebanon. It’s happening right here in the United States and this trial will only embolden the criminal militias that terrorize these border communities.”

American Hispanics, especially those who live near the border, overwhelmingly support efforts to increase law enforcement against coyotes, contends YDSFM. “To many people in South Texas, the Border Patrol is the only thing standing between them and the criminal gangs that run everything from drugs, to guns, to human beings across that border. The people who are out there doing battle with these criminals are heroes who deserve our complete support,” Rodriguez concluded.