An Open Letter to All Border Patrol Agents
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An Open Letter to All Border Patrol Agents
Written by Doc Farmer
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
ChronWatch.com
Dear Border Patrol Agents, Officers and Employees,
First of all, thank you for your service. Your dedication to this nation is impressive and humbling. You do a tough job without nearly enough support from the government, in either manpower or equipment. You catch illegal aliens and drug smugglers, only to see them back on the American streets weeks (or even days) later. While you no longer have the infamous "catch and release" program, there's still no effective handling of the massive illegal alien problem by your employer -- the United States government.
However, that aside, you do your best with what you've got, and that's all that Americans could ask of you.
And yet, you're getting a really raw deal right now.
Some time back, two US Border Patrol agents, Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean tried to catch a fleeing illegal alien at our border near El Paso, Texas. The guy was apparently a drug smuggler to boot. They fired their weapons at the vehicle after they noted that there was a gun in the illegal alien's possession, but he got away. However, the illegal drug smuggler, one Osbaldo Aldrete-Davilla, didn't get away unscathed. He ended up (pun intended) with a bullet in his backside. While hardly life threatening, I'm sure that the guy was fearful of brain damage.
This happened back in February of 2005. Aldrete-Davilla was caught AGAIN in December 2005, AGAIN illegally in our country, AGAIN smuggling drugs.
Was he arrested? Nope. In fact, this illegal alien drug smuggling scumbag obtained immunity from prosecution by US attorneys, in exchange for his testimony against the US Border Agents who shot him in the correct execution of their duties.
What's worse, and what boggles my mind no end, these two honorable men were arrested on the word of a known drug dealer and illegal alien, convicted, and sentenced to over a decade of incarceration in a Federal Prison. 12 years for Compean, 11 for Ramos.
Aldrete-Davilla, on the other hand, not only gets NO prison time, he also gets the opportunity to SUE the Federal Government for his breaking of our laws and the resulting hot lead spank in the ass he so rightfully received.
That's millions of OUR (and, by the way, your) tax dollars going to an illegal alien/drug dealing scumbag, while two men who swore to protect our borders, who went out on a daily basis to risk their lives so that we could be safe, are about to be sent to a Federal Penitentiary. A place where law enforcement officials who are now residents don't fare very well, safety-wise.
There have been many calls for the President to provide a pardon for these two gentlemen. Fifty-one Congressmen signed a letter asking the President to intervene on their behalf. Well, George W. Bush did issue some pardons a short while back. However, he was apparently too busy pardoning convicted drug dealers to get around to pardoning two men who were wrongly prosecuted and persecuted for trying to STOP a drug trafficker who was illegally in our country.
Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean are scheduled to report to prison on January 17, 2006. Illegal Alien and Drug Smuggler Osbaldo Aldrete-Davilla is laughing all the way to the bank.
If this isn't a perversion of justice, I don't know what is.
There are nearly 30,000 Border Patrol Agents, Officers and Employees currently out there, doing a very necessary but very hard job.
Now I, as an American, am going to ask you to do something very, very hard.
I'm asking all of you, on January 17, 2006, to quit your jobs.
No two-weeks notice, no nice words. Just 30,000 letters of resignation, handed in all at the same time. Something to the tune of --
- [list:1jlg8gaj]Dear President Bush,
Due to the incarceration of two of my colleagues in the Border Patrol, Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, I no longer believe that I can perform my lawful duties without fear of prosecution by your own Federal Attorneys and Federal Judges. Therefore, I hereby resign my position in the United States Border Patrol, effective immediately.
Yours respectfully,
...........
[/list:u:1jlg8gaj]Drop off your guns, badges, vehicles, keys, uniforms, and any other US Government property with your letter, so you don't get wrongly accused of stealing and end up in the slammer for that.
I am not talking about a PATCO-type strike. I am seriously and honestly asking you to down tools and walk away. Permanently. You won't be breaking any anti-strike laws by doing that. You'll just be exercising your right as a free individual to end your employment. If you've got a contract with the government, break it. They could try to sue, but I doubt they're going to flood their already overloaded courts with suits they'll never collect a penny from. And if they try to force you back to work, may I suggest you invite a couple of Minutemen over to your house? Since Janet Reno's no longer in a position of power, I doubt very much that there'll be any early morning closet raids in any event...
Now, why should you give up your jobs? It's an honest question. Here's a brutally honest answer. Because paid or not, you'll NEVER be able to do your job properly. Your own employer is royally boning two of your fellow colleagues, and if you remain in the Border Patrol, you're in the same position (bent over, ankles gripped firmly in hands).
The President of the United States, the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the Nation, is unwilling to override this travesty of justice. This should worry the hell out of you. I know it worries the hell out of me!
Dubya doesn't even talk a good game anymore when it comes to border protection. Sure, he has nominally expanded your ranks. However, he's also put into place a system that emasculates your ability to enforce the laws that are already on the books. The US Prosecutor and the Federal Judge who presided over this charade are both Bush appointees.
I support George W. Bush on the War on Terrorism. In other areas, I also find him to be a good President. However, he's dead wrong on the idiotic non-protection protection of our nation's boundaries. Protecting our borders IS a necessary element in the War on Terrorism. Why Dubya doesn't see that is frankly beyond my ken.
Unemployment rates right now are at historical lows. Which means that you've got an excellent chance of finding new jobs quickly. There are a lot of communities in the country who would gladly pay top dollar for your training, your expertise, and your dedication to service. Without putting you in the position of threatening you with imprisonment for actually doing your job.
Now, those of you who stay on (because I'm certain that some always do) should remember one very important thing. You may continue to draw a paycheck. However, you'll always be at risk of prosecution from your own employer, for the simple act of doing the job you swore an oath to do. Think about that. You can keep a job where you have to violate an oath, a promise before God, to protect American citizens.
Could you really sleep at night, knowing that?
I couldn't.
I suspect that a lot of people who live near the border wouldn't sleep too well either, knowing that you weren't able to do your job to the best of your ability.
Moreover, I don't think you could either. Because you took this job not to protect politicians or protect corruption, but to protect America. If you are not permitted to do that, if you're under threat of imprisonment by your own boss for doing your job, well, I'd say you're already in the wrong job.
Time to find a new one.
About the Writer: Doc Farmer is a columnist, security consultant, humorist, and parttime curmudgeon living in America's heartland. He is also moderator on ChronWatch's Forum. Doc receives e-mail at docfarmer9999@yahoo.co.uk
This Article Was First Published In ChronWatch At: http://www.chronwatch.com/content/contentDisplay.asp?aid=25841
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