Thread: Illegal immigrant sues Border Patrol

http://www.kristv.com/Global/story.asp? ... 3&nav=Bsmh

Illegal immigrant sues Border Patrol

BROWNSVILLE, Texas -- A Honduran man who claims U.S. Border Patrol agents nearly beat him to death and cost him his ability to work as a laborer has filed a lawsuit in federal court.


The Border Patrol has denied the claims made by Santos Roque Ramirez Carias, a 41-year-old who swam across the Rio Grande near El Calaboz, about 15 miles northwest of Brownsville, in 2003.

When Border Patrol agents spotted him, Ramirez said he initially fled but then raised his arms to surrender, according to the lawsuit, which was filed Monday.

Ramirez claims agents John South and Ruben Torres tackled him, took turns striking him and slammed his body into the ground before kicking him in the groin. Ramirez also accused the agents of hitting him while he was handcuffed and using racial slurs.

When agent Matthew Wess arrived, Ramirez told him he could not get up and that his back might be broken, but the agent told him he was "a good actor," according to the suit. Ramirez claims the agents then picked him up and dropped him several times and told him he could "swim back" or "go to jail" if he went to the hospital.

Internal Border Patrol reports show Ramirez did not fight during the incident, said his attorney, Abner Burnett of the South Texas Civil Rights Project.

Ramirez was hospitalized for two weeks and underwent surgery for a broken hip and a herniated disc in his back, among other injuries, Burnett said.

"There was nothing to indicate (the agents) were in danger or afraid of him," Burnett said in Saturday's editions of the Brownsville Herald. "They tipped the scale and used excessive force."

However, the Office of the Inspector General investigated the case and found no criminal wrongdoing, said Border Patrol spokesman Salvador Zamora.

"An administrative review was conducted to determine if there were any policy or procedural violations and none were found," he said.

U.S. Immigration Court records show Ramirez was ordered deported at a March 15 hearing.

No witnesses to confirm either side of the story and in the US people are innocent until proven guilty.

"An administrative review was conducted to determine if there were any policy or procedural violations and none were found," he said.

U.S. Immigration Court records show Ramirez was ordered deported at a March 15 hearing.

So what's this guy doing here 9 mos after a deportation order

This isn't the first time this kind of thing has happened. And, unfortunately, they settle out of court and hand people money rather than let it get blown all up and spread all over the news. I think that if they would let a few of these cases go to court then fight like the dickens for the COPS instead of the illegals for a change, it would help turn the tide.

Unscrupulous employers, immigration attorneys, immigration advocates, ACLU and illegal immigrants. Heaven help us all.

yes enuf you got that right! and immigrants who see a pot of gold in suing -( hondureas is a poor country-) I dont have sympathy for people who break into this country and get hurt in the process.
it reminds me of the criminal who was trying to break into a house by climbing on the roof he fell in - got hurt and sued the owners-
thats the mentality-
I could have filed lawsuits, 2 dozen times over- but I wasnt the member of a privileged underclass- there were no immigration attorneys - a lower form of ambulance chasers they are-

I could have sued Rex Hospital in Raleigh in 1986. I didn't. An illegal would have.

All I can say is thank GOD he didnt sue in the state of california, he probably would have won his case. I am surprised the ACLU didnt get wind of this and rush to his defense.

But I am sure the taxapyers of texas still got stuck with his medical bill!

Chances are the ACLU is the group that told him to sue.