Thread: Tancredo bill would de-fund two agents' prison terms

Bill would de-fund two agents' prison terms

http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbc ... 10044/1002

By Jerry Seper
July 21, 2007

Rep. Tom Tancredo is sponsoring legislation to block funds for the prison sentences of U.S. Border Patrol agents convicted in a shooting.

A Republican congressman yesterday said he will offer an amendment to an annual spending bill to prevent the Bush administration from using funds to enforce the prison sentences of two U.S. Border Patrol agents.

Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado said the amendment would force the release of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean, who were sentenced to 11- and 12-year prison terms for shooting a fleeing drug-smuggling suspect in the buttocks.

"Americans have been waiting months for the president to right this wrong and I am not going to wait any longer," said Mr. Tancredo, a candidate for president in 2008. "It's time that the Congress took matters into its own hands.

"This kangaroo court in Texas has made a decision, but Congress is under no obligation to provide the administration with the funds they need to enforce it," he said.

Also yesterday, Rep. John Culberson, Texas Republican, and 20 House colleagues sent a letter to President Bush asking that he immediately commute the sentences of the agents, saying they were "unjustly prosecuted for doing their job."

"It is unacceptable that a federal prosecutor would take the word of a known drug smuggler over the testimony of two officers protecting our country," Mr. Culberson said. "This case has created a chilling effect along the border, and law-enforcement personnel tell me they are now hesitant to draw their weapons."

The others who signed the letter are Texas Reps. Michael C. Burgess, John Carter, Michael K. Conaway, Louie Gohmert, Kay Granger, Ralph M. Hall, Kenny Marchant, Michael McCaul, Pete Sessions and Ted Poe; California Reps. Brian P. Bilbray, Wally Herger, Dana Rohrabacher and Ed Royce; and Reps. Mary Fallin of Oklahoma, Virgil H. Goode Jr. of Virginia, Walter B. Jones of North Carolina, Mike Rogers of Michigan, Cliff Stearns of Florida and Joe Wilson of South Carolina.

Mr. Tancredo said although his approach is "unconventional, it is not unprecedented." The House approved an amendment in 2005 that prevented the administration from using any funding to enforce a court decision barring the display of the Ten Commandments in a public building.

He said he will attempt to attach the amendment to a bill funding the Justice and Commerce departments. The bill recently was approved by the House Appropriations Committee and is expected to reach the House floor before the month ends.

"We've heard a lot of tough talk from members of Congress about how we need to make things right for Mr. Ramos and Mr. Compean," Mr. Tancredo said. "My amendment is going to give them all a chance to put their money where their mouth is."

Ramos, 37, and Compean, 28, were sentenced in October on several charges, including the use of a firearm during a crime of violence, which carries a mandatory 10-year sentence. They shot Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila, a Mexican national, as he fled to Mexico, abandoning his van in Texas with 743 pounds of marijuana inside.

I really like this guy!!!

Very innovative and interesting stuff. Ya gotta love Tom Tancredo!!!. Hard hitting and direct, no fluff...Tom walks the talk.

Added to Home Page
http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=N ... e&sid=2401

Proposal Would Essentially End Jailed Border Agents' Prison Sentences

July 21, 2007 10:22 a.m. EST


Christopher Rizo - AHN Staff Writer
Washington, D.C. (AHN)-U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) announced Friday he will offer an amendment to an annual spending bill that would prohibit the federal government from using funds to enforce the prison sentences of two U.S. Border Patrol agents.

If approved, Tancredo, a Republican presidential hopeful, said the amendment would force the release of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean, who were sentenced to 11- and 12-year prison terms respectively for shooting a fleeing alleged drug-smuggler.

"Americans have been waiting months for the president to right this wrong and I am not going to wait any longer," Tancredo said, according to The Washington Times. "It's time that the Congress took matters into its own hands."

He added, "This kangaroo court in Texas has made a decision, but Congress is under no obligation to provide the administration with the funds they need to enforce it."

Earlier in the week, Johnny Sutton, the U.S. attorney whose office won convictions against the two agents justified the prosecutions to lawmakers.

Speaking to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sutton said Ramos and Compean committed "serious crimes."

"Agents Compean and Ramos crossed the line. They are not heroes," Sutton told lawmakers. "They deliberately shot an unarmed man in the back without justification, destroyed evidence to cover it up and lied about it. A jury heard the facts and voted to convict."

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), who chaired the hearing, asked whether the government's priorities were "out of whack" when it made the immunity offer to "a drug trafficker," in exchange for testifying against the agents.

She said the smuggling suspect, Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila, who abandoned 743 pounds of marijuana as he fled to Mexico, was "not an innocent who was caught in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"I find it hard to believe that someone trusted with $1 million in drugs is simply an amateur drug mule," she said.


http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7007969995

Paul / Tancredo 08

Go Tom!!!

Tom for president (NOW)

Bush removed from office (Just sorry the practice of Tarring and Feathering is not allowed) for his intentionally NOT enforcing US law and twisting our constitution for his own methods and means

The prosecutor of this case ... oh lord... you have no idea how bad I would like to see this individual stripped of all property, money, clothing .... b@tch slap him and evict him from this country with a boot in the back side (Another Bush appointee)

Oh..... and I am a conservative republican ...

Tancredo's behind the times. IMHO, this is just grandstanding for publicity. Presidential candidate Duncan Hunter submitted a bill in January to have the two border patrol agents pardoned. Tancredo's a johnny come lately on this one! Hunter's been pushing for Ramos and Compeon's release for a while now.

Status of the Duncan Hunter bill:

H.R.563
Title: To vacate further proceedings in the prosecution of certain named persons.
Sponsor: Rep Hunter, Duncan [CA-52] (introduced 1/18/2007) Cosponsors (101)
Related Bills: H.CON.RES.37
Latest Major Action: 2/2/2007 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:h.r.00563:

But who has the charima and a following to get the job done? Tom started the Immigration Reform Caucus a long time ago and he has the backing of those members of that caucus, including Member Duncan Hunter

He also created an amendment to defund any local government that creates a sancutary status. So he is hitting it on all angles.

Duncan is a good guy but I think he is a little too passive. I think that Tom would use every legal angle possible, and do it as soon as possible. He is the type that does not like to leave problems hanging.