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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.