Rift between Border Patrol agents, leadership widens


By MICHELLE MITTELSTADT
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — Relations between Border Patrol management and rank-and-file agents appear unusually tense, with many agents feeling estranged from their leadership and angered by President Bush's push for what they view as amnesty for illegal immigrants.

The rift widened this week when leaders of the National Border Patrol Council, the union representing 11,000 of the force's 13,000 agents, made public its unanimous vote of no-confidence in Border Patrol Chief David Aguilar.

Local union representatives, rather than their national leaders, pressed for the vote at their recent convention in Corpus Christi, council Executive Vice President Richard Pierce said. More than 100 of the local leaders, most of them senior agents, participated.

"There is so much going on in this outfit. The morale is so shot because of all the policies the administration has instituted," said Pierce, a retired agent.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is standing by his deputy, Aguilar, saying he is doing an excellent job.

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the top Republican on the Senate immigration subcommittee, also defended Aguilar.

"I don't understand why someone would say they have no confidence in him, because everything I've seen does give me confidence," he said.

Chertoff blamed the tension on the prosecution of two Texas agents for wounding a fleeing drug smuggler.

The case of ex-agents Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos, serving 12- and 11-year sentences, respectively, for the 2005 shooting, has become a flashpoint. Defenders say the men were prosecuted for doing their job; federal officials say they fired on an unarmed man and concealed evidence.

"I understand there is a certain amount of unhappiness over the result of what happened in the prosecution of the two Border Patrol agents," Chertoff said about the no-confidence vote. "That, of course, is a matter in the courts currently ... None of this has to do with Chief Aguilar, who has been a magnificent leader."

But Pierce and union President T.J. Bonner said Chertoff is misreading the situation if he believes the Ramos-Compean case is the main area of friction.

"This no-confidence vote is an indictment against the entire administration and its policies, including Michael Chertoff and the president," Bonner said. "Their policies and their philosophy is just counter to what the men and women out there on the line believe needs to be done to secure our borders."


At heart of the matter
Bush, Chertoff and Aguilar are urging Congress to legalize the nation's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants and create a legal pathway for future arrivals. They argue such an approach is necessary to free agents to focus on drug traffickers and would-be terrorists.

"I would hope that the council would take a look at the president's plan," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Wednesday. Still, she added, "I understand that they have very real concerns since they work on the border every day."

Within the ranks, many believe the only way to reduce illegal immigration is to crack down on employers.

Bonner, Pierce and others blame Aguilar for promoting legalization and guest worker programs. Also, they also accuse him of insufficiently defending his agents.

Agents are quitting at an increased clip, Bonner said, with attrition at 12 percent this year, up from 4 percent a year ago.

"I've been an agent for 29 years now, and I've never seen morale lower," he said.

The prosecutions of Ramos, Compean and others who used force is doing more than harming agents' morale, some said.

"When they see that aggressive kind of prosecution against law enforcement officers, I think we run the risk of a Border Patrol officer being killed in the line of duty because he hesitates to pull his service revolver or hesitates to take action," said Rep. Steve King of Iowa, the top Republican on the House immigration subcommittee.

King, who opposes the Bush immigration plan, said he fears the Border Patrol has been permanently damaged.

Chertoff acknowledged he is monitoring the force to make sure there is no "chilling effect" that would inhibit agents from defending themselves.

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