Congressman calls for removal of Laredo Border Patrol chief
AP Texas News
Aug. 24, 2007, 4:34PM
Congressman calls for removal of Laredo Border Patrol chief
By MICHELLE ROBERTS Associated Press Writer
© 2007 The Associated Press
SAN ANTONIO — A congressman who has been an outspoken critic of illegal immigration called for the removal Friday of the Border Patrol's chief in Laredo, saying his recent comments about the role of the agency make him unfit for the job.
Rep. Tom Tancredo, a Colorado Republican and long-shot presidential candidate, said Carlos X. Carrillo's remarks in a town hall meeting were "diametrically opposed" to the Border Patrol's mission. Carrillo spoke Aug. 15 in Laredo, a border community intimately connected by commerce and family with Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.
At the meeting, Carrillo said, "The Border Patrol's job is not to stop illegal immigrants. The Border Patrol's job is not to stop narcotics ... The Border Patrol's mission is not to stop criminals. The Border Patrol's mission is to stop terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering this country."
In a letter to the editor published in the Laredo Morning Times three days later, Carrillo sought "to fully explain" his comments, saying the agency's job historically has been to protect the nation's homeland by detecting and apprehending people or contraband coming in illegally.
Tancredo, who says he was contacted by concerned Border Patrol agents and others, said the explanation doesn't address concerns that Carrillo is minimizing the need to stop all illegal immigrants. Carrillo has headed the sector covering 171 river miles since October.
"He has established a clear attitude in regard to what the Border Patrol is supposed to be about, and it is diametrically opposed to what the Border Patrol is supposed to do," said Tancredo, who believes the comments reflect an attitude among some that illegal immigrants seeking jobs are harmless.
"You have to stop everyone, or at least as many as you can, who is coming into the country illegally," he said.
Calls seeking comment from Carrillo and Border Patrol officials in Washington were not immediately returned.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5081940.html
