In the last several months, CFIF activists have sent more than 150,000 letters to President Bush urging him to pardon Border Patrol Agents Jose Alonso Compean and Ignacio Ramos. Last week the two brave border agents began serving a combined 23 years in prison for what Congressman Tom Tancredo described as "doing their job" – pursuing an illegal alien trying to smuggle nearly 800 pounds of marijuana into the United States.
As reported by most of the media covering the story, the prosecution's case hinged almost exclusively on the statements of Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila, the illegal alien drug smuggler who was given immunity and taxpayer-funded medical care in exchange for his testimony against Agents Compean and Ramos.
Responding to public outrage, U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, whose office prosecuted the case, has released no less than seven press statements in defense of his side of the story. According to the National Border Patrol Counsel (NBPC), Sutton's January 17 release, titled "Myth vs. Reality – The Facts of Why the Government Prosecuted Agents Compean and Ramos," presents a one-sided view of the incident. But as the NBPC points out, "every story has at least two sides, and the incident giving rise to the wrongful prosecution of Border Patrol Agents [Compean and Ramos] is certainly no exception."
The NBPC has prepared a rebuttal to Sutton's "Myth vs. Reality" statement. The rebuttal is divided into sixteen sections, each containing three subsections. The first subjections, labeled "Myth" and "Reality," are taken verbatim from the U.S. Attorney's January 17 media release. The last subjection, labeled "Fact," represents the Agents' side of the story. This was done to allow "readers to draw their own conclusions," according to the NBPC.
To download the NBPC's rebuttal, click here (PDF).
January 25, 2007