Border Patrol agent shoots migrant in El Paso tunnel

These kind of stories always deeply concern me.
~~~~~

Border Patrol agent shoots migrant in El Paso tunnel

Associated Press - July 3, 2007 3:35 PM ET

EL PASO, Texas (AP) - The Border Patrol in El Paso says an agent today shot a migrant who was crossing illegally into the US through a drainage tunnel.

It was the second shotting of an illegal immigrant in less than a week by the El Paso Border Patrol.

The single bullet fired stuck the migrant in the left arm. He was transported to the hospital with a non-life threatening injury.

The Border Patrol says two agents encountered a group of people in the tunnel around 12:30 a.m. Authorities say 1 of the agents fired a shot after a migrant made a motion toward him.

The Mexican Consulate has been notified.

El Paso police, the Border Patrol and the FBI will conduct independent investigations.

The agent involved in the shooting will be placed on administrative duty pending outcome of the review.

http://www.kten.com/Global/story.asp?S=6743153

Quote:

The Mexican Consulate has been notified

...to pick up their illegal, reimburse the U.S. for their illegals health care and to replace the bullet the U.S. Border Control used to thwart the illegals entry. What???...it doesn't work that way?

Migraint??????

I imagine it was dark in that tunnel. Make a threating move toward me in such a situation and you had better be right with the Lord, or lucky! 8O

Quote:

The Mexican Consulate has been notified.

Uh oh, here comes Johnny Sutton. If Mexico demands prosecution, I guess this one will end up in jail to, right? :evil: :evil: :evil:

Hey Johnny, get that leash off your neck and go tell Bush to go jump off a cliff.

Border Patrol shooting becomes contentious issue
By Louie Gilot / El Paso Times
El Paso Times
Article Launched:07/05/2007 06:12:26 PM MDT

What exactly happened inside an El Paso drainage tunnel in which an undocumented immigrant was shot and wounded by a Border Patrol agent Tuesday is becoming a contentious issue in the community.
Border Patrol officials said that while the investigation into the shooting goes on, they had no reason to disbelieve the agent's version that he was approached by a 32-year-old man immigrant from Chihuahua City and reacted in self-defense.

"The agent perceived a threat against himself," said Border Patrol spokesman Doug Mosier.

The agent had gone into a manhole with a flashlight to investigate an immigrant sighting at Hill and Ninth streets, officials said.

The immigrant was wounded in the arm and is recovering at Thomason Hospital, officials said.

Officials with the Mexican Consulate in El Paso interviewed the wounded man Wednesday but would not disclose the man's version of events because the investigation is ongoing. They said today that the man had family and a work history in Denver and was headed there after spending some time in Mexico.

Immigrants' advocates and some residents of the Segundo Barrio said today they are concerned for their safety and doubt the self-defense stand.

"We are not convinced that the argument that they (agents) were defending themselves is a good argument," said Fernando Garcia, executive director of the Border Network for Human Rights, at a press conference today.

"We believe this was not an isolated event. Something is happening out there. It's something we haven't seen in years, this aggressiveness with which the agents are confronting migrants," he said. "We do recognize we have a problem of criminal organizations. These are not nice organizations but we don't believe the immigrants are the ones attacking enforcement agents. They are just (caught) in the middle of these two forces."

The shooting is the fourth this year by Border Patrol agents in the area and the second in less than a week.

At the same time, assaults against Border Patrol agents have increased to 59 so far this year from 45 at the same time last year, according to Border Patrol statistics.

Segundo Barrio residents who saw the aftermath of Tuesday's shooting have described to their neighbors seeing the wounded migrant halfway out of the manhole, leading some residents to think -- erroneously -- that the shooting took place above ground.

Downtown resident Eva Castorena said she heard the story from an elderly woman who said she saw the shooting on her street.

"There's fear and distrust in the community," she said. "One of the residents could be mistaken for an undocumented (immigrant) and shot. It's not safe for us."

About 300 families from the El Paso area and in Southern New Mexico have signed a petition circulated by the Border Network asking for a thorough investigation and a review of Border Patrol lethal force protocols, Border Network officials said. The group is also organizing a protest scheduled July 28, officials said.

In addition to the Border Patrol, the District Attorney's office is also investigating the shooting and will present findings to a grand jury, officials said. The other eight immigrants found in the tunnel Tuesday are considered witnesses, except for an 11-year-old boy and two 17-year-old boys who were returned to their families, Mexican consular officials said.

Border Patrol officials said the immigrants entered the tunnel from an opening in the dry river bed.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/breakingnews/ci_6306567