Why did George Bush leave our border open to drug smugglers?

February 23, 4:47 PM
Immigration Reform Examiner
Dave Gibson


U.S. Attorney Lam (Perhaps, she did her job too well.)
AP/Dennis Cook

While "poor performance" was cited by then Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez as the reason behind the controversial December 2006 dismissal of seven U.S. Attorneys, his department's own records show evidence to the contrary. U.S. Justice Department data shows that six of the seven ranked in the top third of the country's 93 U.S. Attorneys.

U.S. Attorney Carol Lam was one of those fired by Gonzalez. Lam had been criticized by Gonzalez for not prosecuting enough illegal immigration cases...Really?

Given the fact that Alberto Gonzalez and the entire Bush administration, turned a blind eye to the issue of illegal immigration, it is impossible to believe that Lam was dismissed for being too soft on foreign nationals crossing our border illegally. Remember, this is the same Justice Department which chose to prosecute two Border Patrol agents for firing upon a Mexican drug smuggler.

U.S. Attorney Carol Lam prosecuted Rep. Randy Cunningham (R-CA), who pleaded guilty to bribery and tax evasion charges. The corrupt lawmaker is now sitting in a prison cell thanks to Lam. Cunningham was a popular Republican Congressman and would have undoubtedly been re-elected in 2006. Obviously, this did not sit well with the Bush administration. This prosecution alone could have been reason enough for Gonzalez to fire Lam.

However, in addition to being tough on corrupt Congressmen, Carol Lam was prosecuting top officials in a Mexican drug cartel. In 2006, Lam successfully prosecuted a member of the Tijuana Drug Cartel named Patricia Palacios.

In May 2006, Palacios pleaded guilty to conspiracy and admitted that she and her husband (Gilberto Camacho) attempted to hide over $800,000 in drug sale profits. Between 2001-2004, her and her husband deposited $822,000 in cash into several bank accounts, in amounts of less than $10,000 to avoid IRS scrutiny. All of the accounts were held by Wells Fargo and Bank of America.

At the time of her dismissal, Lam was in the process of bringing a death penalty case against Tijuana Drug Cartel leader Francisco Javier Arellano-Felix, who was arrested off the coast of California in August 2006. Arellano-Felix ran the organization which is responsible for recruiting Los Angeles gang members and sending enormous amounts of cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana into the U.S. At one time, the Tijuana Cartel supplied half of the cocaine sold in this country.

U.S. Attorney Lam once told the press: "What we are doing along the border, as in other areas of law enforcement, is we are taking a moral stand. We are drawing a line and saying this is not acceptable conduct. And we may not be able to address all of it, but we are trying to address the worst."...Apparently, that did not sit well with President Bush!

Upon her forced resignation, Carol Lam issued the following statement: "We have prosecuted serious cases involving public corruption, dismantled the leadership of huge narcotics cartels and prison gangs, and protected the public treasury in civil litigation."

There is no doubt that President Bush and his Justice Department made the border safe for invaders, as Bush constantly talked of amnesty for illegal aliens. By continuously prosecuting tough cops who aggressively pursued drug dealers, they also encouraged the flow of illegal drugs into this country.

The insidious corruption which has turned Mexico into a narco-state and rendered its government irrelevant, has apparently migrated into the U.S. along with millions of illegal aliens.

Perhaps, U.S. Attorney Carol Lam was getting too close to uncovering the relationship which may very well exist between segments of this government and Mexican drug cartels.

http://www.examiner.com/x-35821-Immigra ... -smugglers