US Border Patrol Agents Protest Latest Bureaucratic Interference – OpEd

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In yet another move aimed at handcuffing U.S. Border Patrol agents, orders have been sent out from Border Patrol headquarters in Washington, D.C. to Border Patrol sectors nationwide that checks of transportation hubs and systems located away from the southwest border of the United States will only be conducted if there is intelligence indicating a threat, according to the National Border Patrol Council.

Bill Brooks, southwest border field branch chief for Customs and Border Protection in Washington, D.C. stated, “We are refining the way we operate by managing risk.”

According to an article appearing on the KRGV.com web site on October 21, 2011, Brooks explained how agents will only be at commercial transportation hubs if intelligence justifies the operations.

Stated plainly,Border Patrol managers are increasing the layers of bureaucracy and making it as difficult as possible for Border Patrol agents to conduct their core duties.The only risks being managed by this move are too many apprehensions, negative media attention and complaints generated by immigrant rights groups, complained officials at the NBPC.

Interior patrol operations, farm and ranch checks, and other enforcement operations met a similar fate nearly ten years ago when the Border Patrol implemented the same intelligence-based philosophy. Due to the unnecessary bureaucratic red tape, it is next to impossible to get an operation in those areas approved; therefore, apprehensions in those areas also decreased.

By decreasing apprehensions,Border Patrol management and the Administration can make false claims regarding the security of our borders. Further,the lack of apprehensions makes it easier for the Administration to promote some form of amnesty,NBPC officials stated.

Border Patrol agents have been extremely effective in arresting illegal immigrants, drug smugglers, and those violating a myriad of laws by conducting transportation checks. Millions of illegal aliens are currently residing in the United States and they are utilizing transportation systems to travel throughout the country.

This change in policy would give criminals a free pass to exploit these transit systems. A decade ago nineteen illegal aliens overstayed visas and showed the vulnerability of our transportation system, which resulted in nearly 3,000 Americans losing their lives. Such was the case on September 11, 2001, officials noted.

This lesson must have been lost on those running the Border Patrol in Washington.

Still Angry Over Agent Diaz Imprisonment

As proof of an alleged anti-Border Patrol mind set within the Obama administration, officials at the NBPC remind Americans of a recent miscarriage of justice:

Border Patrol Agent Jesus Diaz was sentenced to 24 months in prison on October 20, 2012 for depriving a drug smuggler of his Constitutional rights under color of law. This sentence was the culmination of a prolonged investigation by Department of Homeland Security investigators and prosecutors from the Department of Justice’s U.S. Attorney’s office.

“This case continues the tradition of bias against Border Patrol agents in the Western District of Texas,” stated officials with the NBPC.

The National Border Patrol Council noted that it disagrees with the exorbitant waste of time and resources that were devoted to this prosecution.

“The National Border Patrol Council believes that Diaz’s actions did not rise to the level of a crime; those actions should have been dealt with at the administrative level resulting at most in Diaz’s termination as a Border Patrol agent” said officials at the NBPC headquarters.

Thousands of man-hours and millions of tax dollars were expended to obtain a 24-month conviction for someone who has already spent eight months in custody. Plans to appeal this verdict are under way.

“While the US Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Texas has a job to do, one that includes prosecuting Border Patrol agents who commit crimes, it has shown a distinctly quick trigger in going after Border Patrol agents. That same quickness would be better served in prosecuting the criminals who routinely assault Border Patrol agents and violate the immigration and drug laws of the United States,” Border Patrol officials said in a statement.

Jim Kouri

Jim Kouri, CPP, formerly Fifth Vice-President, is currently a Board Member of the National Association of Chiefs of Police, an editor for ConservativeBase.com, and he's a columnist for Examiner.com. In addition, he's a blogger for the Cheyenne, Wyoming Fox News Radio affiliate KGAB (www.kgab.com). Kouri also serves as political advisor for Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Michael Moriarty.

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