The Texas Border Zone

Free at Last!

2009-02-18T08:44:00.003-06:00

Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean are free at last! After more than two years of solitary confinement the former Border Patrol agents have been released from federal custody to serve out there remaining sentences under house arrest. These men are finally back with their families where they belong. They have some time to wok on rebuilding their lives which have been destroyed by the over-zealous prosecution of these two men. Welcome home guys!

Ramos-Compean appeal heard today!

2007-12-03T09:05:00.000-06:00

Ramos and Compean get their appeal heard today in Lousiana. Read here. More on this to follow later!

Greed of catastropic poportions

2007-11-25T20:05:00.000-06:00

The repercussions of greed are almost always costly. The case of Agustin Dovalina III, the former Laredo Chief of Police is no exception. According to a story in today's Laredo Morning Times, Dovalina's attorney lied about the financial hardship the caused the ex-chief to accept the bribes. Regardless of hardship, the bribes were taken, and the careers of those indicted, and those of many others in their circles have been devastated. Lives ruined and careers tainted for a few dollars, and a set of golf clubs. Pathetic. It has been said that everyone has a price. I sure hope if I am ever tempted that I can hold out for a little bit more, at least enough to cover the attorneys fees.

The Glen Beck effect

2007-11-24T15:31:00.000-06:00

Well I have held off mentioning the Glen Beck saga on these pages until I had heard both sides of the argument. If you don't have any idea what I am talking about, here is a short synopsis. Glen Beck is a leading proponent of Immigration change, no surprise there. He had US Rep Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, and the Webb County Sheriff, Rick Flores on his show a couple of weeks ago. The discussion degraded to a series of insults and nasty innuendo, all on national prime-time television. In the end, Beck dismissed Laredo as a two bit, third world town, with nothing but the drug industry keeping it afloat financially. I think Glen knows better, and was just using this to advance the discussion on immigration. Bottom line is this hurt Laredo, and does NOT advance the dialog. I have been a big fan of Glen Beck here, and have promoted some of his ideas on these pages. That doesn't mean I agree with everything out of his mouth. In the end, Glen is just trying to bring home the ratings. You can't blame the man for that.

Thanksgiving

2007-11-22T07:11:00.000-06:00

When I was in the Navy, every year at Thanksgiving a bunch of stiff-necked Admirals would release Thanksgiving messages. I'm sure there will be a ton of them released today. These messages would thank the troops and their families for the sacrifices they made each day for their country. I didn't always read them, because I was always a little too involved in the sacrifice of the moment. These messages always seemed to read the same way. Perhaps they were boilerplate. Not just today, but everyday I give thanks to my brothers and sisters on the BorderZone. Many of you are working today, spending another day away from the people that you love. Thank you for what you do every day. I have so much to be thankful for, there's no way I could put it all on one blog posting. You can be sure that as each day passes there is something that makes me think of how lucky I am to be an American serving my country on the BorderZone.

Time for Bush to take action

2007-11-21T07:56:00.000-06:00

It is very good to see Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila in jail.....finally. It sure took Johnny Sutton a long time to get that done. Now that the real bad guy is in jail, it is time for our president to take action. Mr. President it is time to use your powers of pardon for good, for the best interest of the nation. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, pardon Ex-agents Compean and Ramos now. The sentence they received was ridiculous. It is time for them to go home to their faithful families, and start to rebuild what is left of their lives. This is the right thing to do, and now is the time to do it. Take action now!

Coming home to apathy

2007-11-18T21:12:00.000-06:00

Wounded soldiers returning home from Iraq are getting the shaft. They come home in pieces to apathy, red tape, and a government that delays their care because of political infighting. We have to put an end to this now! I don't care who's causing the problem, just get that damn bill passed now, and get the care these heroes deserve. A story in the San Antonio Express News today told the story of one of these heroes. He and his family have been through hell, the least we can do is help him get the care he needs without delay. Another problem we have is many ex military personnel that receive disability payments from the VA that they don't deserve. If you are receiving compensation you don't deserve, you could be the one preventing his care! Let's get this fixed people. Quit talking and start doing.

El Paso DFO to retiew

2007-11-08T05:51:00.000-06:00

El Paso Director of Field Operations, Luis Garcia, announced hie retirement from government service last week. Mr. Garcia has been a government employee for 37 years, and is well liked and respected in El Paso and Juarez. Like most leadership figures, Mr. Garcia has been followed by some controversy, but has served in numerous capacities with outstanding performance wherever he has been. Luis Garcia will be sorely missed in CBP, not much of the current CBP leadership has "been there, done that" quite like he has.

Your career for a set of golf clubs?

2007-11-01T19:55:00.000-06:00

Last week the story broke about the Laredo Chief of Police. Seems he took a bribe amounting to $13,000, and some golf clubs. His lawyer stated that he accepted the bribe in a moment of personal crisis or weakness. He is just the latest victim of an ongoing federal investigation involving protection provided to an illegal gambling operation. More heads will roll before this is over. The former Chief made about $150,000. So he was in such a personal/financial crisis that he put everything, his career, his rep, his family rep, he put it all on the line for $13,000? What an idiot. This falls under the "The Stupid Shall Be Punished" category. It all boils down to greed. I'll bet he wavered. I'll bet he thought about it. Greed beat him.

Special Delivery

2007-09-25T20:58:00.000-05:00

Last week a heroic Border Patrol Agent went above and beyond the call of duty in serving his country. This agent didn't chase down a bad guy, he didn't find a huge load of drugs, and he didn't nail a terrorist trying to bring a dirty bomb into the country. Nope, this guy did something very few man ever get a chance to do; deliver a baby. Yep, this highly trained law enforcement officer spent 20 minutes on the banks of the Rio Grande delivering a baby! As I said before this is not the 1st time one of our nations finest was on the business end of an emergency delivery, but let it serve as a reminder. Those guys in green do whatever they need to do to protect and defend, no matter how difficult it may be.

Texas gets it

2007-09-13T17:11:00.000-05:00

Texas gets it. At least on emergency preparedness, Texas gets it. Some folks are crying and bitching about the money we spent preparing for hurricane Dean last month. These funds will save lives some day, no doubt about it. Every dime we spend on emergency preparedness is an investment in our civilization. What could be better than that?

2007-09-12T06:48:00.000-05:00

So the US Senate has voted to prevent Mexican trucks from crossing beyond the BordeZone, into the US interior. I can not argue with their logic. I have seen with my own eyes that most of these trucks don't meet US standards. The Texas Department of Public Safety does not currently have the capacity to deal with all of these substandard trucks on Texas highways. Whenever I go down to the World Trade Bridge I worry about our guys who must come into contact with these trucks. The trucks are bad, the operators are not trained to US standards, and the UN system of hazardous cargo is unfamiliar to some law enforcement types. Understand, this has NOTHING to do with Mexican trucks taking US truckers business. I believe fair competition is good. So let's get these folks up to standards before allowing them on out interior roads and highways. They are hazardous enough in the BorderZone.

Let 'em wait

2007-09-05T20:25:00.000-05:00

It seems that that the CBP leadership is much more concerned about the long lines at the northern border than the ones along the Rio Grande.
Believe it or not, there a long lines down here too. Yep, and thousands of impatient folks waiting in them. Having been there, on the spot when the lines are long and the pressure is on, I know we can count on the men and women of CBP. The right thing of course is too ignore the lines. Yes, ignore them. Let those irate citizens honk their horns and fly their middle fingers. The worst thing they could do is hear those horns, let down their guard, and let some half-assed terrorist get into out country with something nasty. Nope, I'm glad to wait in the long lines. Just do it right fellows, you know what's important.

2007-09-03T05:46:00.000-05:00

At one time there where as many as eight ferry crossings on the Rio Grande. Today there is just one, at Los Ebanos, near Rio Grande City. Little Los Ebanos has made the big time with an article in the International Tribune. A visit to this quaint little place will make you wonder about the need for a Border Wall. Although remote, the ferry crossing is continuously under surveillance by numerous electronic sensors, video cameras, and other means. A large Ebony tree stands near the Port building, and it has prickly pear cactus growing out of it high above ones head. Los Ebanos is a rare example of life in less complicated times.

Border Patrol Agent rescues three

2007-08-21T06:59:00.000-05:00

Once again, a loyal Border Patrol Agent has saved the lives of fellow Americans. A California Border Patrol Agent was leaving a checkpoint, when he saw a station wagon that had rolled and burst into flames. At great risk to his own life he entered the vehicle and saved two young girls, and an elderly man from the flames. This is just another example of the selfless, and dedicated Border Patrol Agents that bust their ass for us every day. Thank you for being there for us!

FUBAR at LAX

2007-08-16T07:54:00.000-05:00

Boy did CBP drop the ball the other day. A computer outage at LAX created a backlog of travelers screening to enter the US, and effectively shut down the international terminal at the nations 3rd busiest airport. The big mistake was not the outage, those things happen, the BIG mistake was the lack of a contingency plan. Every watchstander should always ask the question, "What will I do if....?"
This is a difficult time for CBP, while traffic on the border is increasing, we are constantly upgrading our IT systems, and battling manpower shortages. This is the "perfect storm". CBP has to have good solid, deployable contingency plans for all essential operations. This is not an option. Get it together folks.

2007-08-08T11:59:00.000-05:00

This blog will be inactive for a short while while I am out of the BorderZone taking care of some personal business. I will be back on attack as soon as possible.

Texas border fence construction starts this fiscal year

2007-07-31T14:39:00.000-05:00

It looks like the BorderZone wall will go up starting this fall. Despite the hue and cry from land owners, administrators, and citizens of every stripe, the wall/fence/waste of money is going up. The BorderZone folks don't have a veto, and if we have a say it is purely ornamental. Proponents say it will be good for the economy, providing badly needed jobs in the BorderZone, but that remains to be seen. Who's getting these contracts? Locals? I doubt it. The low-bidder usually wins. Well folks, when is the tea-party?

2007-07-29T13:19:00.000-05:00

Yesterday there was another report of a Customs Officer gone wrong. She apparently was involved in a conspiracy to smuggle loads across the border by letting them through her lane when she was on duty there. This is an outrage, If guilty I hope she is punished to the full extent of the law. One individual can and does reflect on our entire border operation. Even though the overwhelming majority of Customs Officers are honest, hardworking, patriotic Americans, this one bad apple can make us look real bad. Our CBP personnel on the border have to realize that they are being closely scrutinized these days. Folks please focus on the thousands of Customs Officers who do their duty to the best of their ability everyday, its those who really represent America.

2007-07-26T05:51:00.000-05:00

The case for for releasing Ramos and Compean is gathering momentum. Yesterday Congress took up debate on the case, and it looks to be making good progress. It's amazing to me how it takes the power of the pocketbook to make anything happen in D.C. It's time to release these guys and let them start to salvage what they can of their lives. As convicted felons they will need the biggest head start that they can get.

2007-07-26T05:37:00.000-05:00

Sometimes we just go too far. Truck drivers are up in arms because U.S. Customs Officers at our land ports are revoking their FAST credentials. The truth is those officers are just following the law. The FAST program is based on the absolute reliability of the shipping companies credentials, and when these are brought into question the law requires customs to revoke them. Period. So truckers and shippers, as always, your real problem is with the lawmakers not the Customs Officers. Not that you will quit blaming them, you got to have someone to blame after all.

2007-07-22T22:06:00.000-05:00

Please visit Glen Beck's store & purchase one of his Border Patrol Fundraiser T-shirts. 100% of the profit from these t-shirt sales will go to the Ramos & Compean Defense fund. Please Help! There is power in numbers.

2007-07-22T20:48:00.000-05:00

I just read an article about a big bust that went down in McAllen today. Busts like these can only happen with great cooperation between agencies. It is a source of pride in my home state of Texas can put together operations like these. Many times you will have federal, state, county and city lawdogs working together. A few months ago some dumbass took a pot shot at a border patrol agent. Before he knew what was happening he had 800 Law Enforcement Officers after his ass. The Mexican police and federales were after him as well, this chump had no chance. He was nabbed less than 12 hours later. Wouldn't it be great if Washington could work together like that?

2007-07-21T06:31:00.000-05:00

I spent most of this week in Brownsville, and returned back to Laredo late in the week. As I drove back along U.S. 83, I contemplated the big wall just a few miles to the south. As I drove I passed no fewer than 4 wildlife reserves, dozens of farms, and untold number of small businesses, all of which rely on the access to the river in some way. What an American tragedy a border wall will be. I truly can see no logic in it, for it will not keep illegal immigrants out, and will hurt us in so many other ways. But my friends and dear readers, this will will be shoved down our throat like the war in Iraq. Let's flood our Representatives with our collective voices, and get construction put off until the 2008 election.

2007-07-21T06:22:00.000-05:00

President Bush apparently is giving no consideration to commuting the sentences of Ramos and Compean.

"At a town-hall style meeting, Bush also rebuffed a question about whether he would consider pardoning two Border Patrol agents in prison for the cover-up of the shooting of a drug trafficker in Texas.

"No, I won't make you that promise," Bush told a woman who asked about a possible pardon. Many Republicans in Congress have said the men should not have been convicted and have criticized the federal U.S. attorney for even prosecuting the agents.

"I know it's an emotional issue but people need to look at the facts. These men were convicted by a jury of their peers after listening to the facts" as presented by U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, said Bush. Bush called Sutton a friend."

"I'm not going to make that kind of promise in a forum like this, obviously," he said. "I'm interested in facts. I know the prosecutor very well, Johnny Sutton. He's a dear friend of mine from Texas. He's a fair guy. He is an evenhanded guy and I can't imagine, well, you know. ..."

When will we as a nation, tire of being bullied by this arrogant little man?

2007-07-17T17:43:00.000-05:00

As I write this note, Lou Dobbs is doing a special on the Johnny Sutton prosecution of Ignacio Ramos, and Jose Compean. From the congressional hearings today, it looks like the ball is rolling to get these guys out of jail. If not pardoned, at least commutation of their 10 year plus sentences. Sutton came off arrogant and unrepentant, imagine that. Let's keep our fingers crossed folks, today was a good day for Ramos and Compean!

2007-07-16T20:38:00.000-05:00

Don't look now, but the new Mexican President, Calderon is doing a bang-up job of going after the big drug cartels in Mexico. His operation is having it's effect on our border, causing changes in techniques used by the smugglers, and types of drugs being smuggled. This guy is kicking some ass down there, using some 20,000 troops to go after the cartels. The man is putting not just his job, but his life on the line in this effort. Never fear Mr. President, the USA will step in and slap you in the face for your efforts. Nothing says "Thank You", like building a wall between our countries.

Walls fall, and wills wilt.

2007-07-15T09:44:00.000-05:00

The "Great Wall" of China, Hadrian's Wall, The Berlin Wall, and many others throughout history were abject failures. The wall between Israel and Palestine has stood solidly for 2.5 years now, but this wall separates two peoples who are more than willing to rub each other out of existence, and that's not the case between the US and Mexico. If we construct a border wall, or fence along the Texas-Mexico border, it too will fail, sooner rather than later. As a long serving Border Patrol Agent recently told me, "If we build a 20 ft. wall, they will build a 21 ft. ladder." What exactly are we hoping to accomplish with this wall? Are the talking heads in Washington more knowledgeable than Henry Cuellar, Congressman from Laredo, or Richard Cortez, mayor of McAllen. I think not. Let the Texas BorderZone Leadership form a coalition, let them decide what measures to enact to help secure our border. Our BorderZone security is a very important issue. Much too important to leave to those who would politicize it, bundle pork in the name of it, and use it too boost their re-election chances. Those of us who live and work here in the BorderZone deserve better.

Fitness requirements for Customs Officers?

2007-07-14T09:46:00.000-05:00

Our Customs Officers put their lives on the line for us every day. They inspect thousands of vehicles of every kind, they conduct personnel searches, and they operate speedboats and helicopters. They do all these things and more, yet there is no mandatory fitness standards for them. If you go to one of our land ports you will see Customs Officers of all sizes and shapes. All ages too, its not unusual to see a 20 year old and a 60 year old working side by side. For many of these folks the last organized fitness activity they participated in was back at the academy, and go d only knows how long ago that was. A fitter workplace is a more productive workplace. Just look at the numbers. Maybe this is something the CBP leadership needs to take another look at.

2007-07-14T09:38:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we had another attempt on the life of a Border Patrol Agent. While attempting to deploy a spike strip to stop a vehicle suspected of smuggling illegal aliens, a 17 year old attempted to run down the BPA with his vehicle. Thank goodness the BPA was agile enough to avoid this attempted murder. The California Highway Patrol caught up with the juvenile just a little while later. Our BPA's are being assaulted on a daily basis now. The more we squeeze the coyotes, the more they strike out against us. Thankfully we have fit, alert, and prepared BPA's on the job.

2007-07-13T00:00:00.000-05:00

To all of you who think that the imprisonment of former Border Patrol Agents Ramos and Compean is unfair, you can send GW an email here. I think the Prez needs to hear from all of us, Loud & Clear, that we think those boys need to be set free. Now of course they don't have the wallet, or the clout of "Scooter" Libby, but GW can make all the difference. Then again he has shown through his deeds whose backs he has.

2007-07-10T21:19:00.000-05:00

Well, today I received my "thanks for checking in" letter from both of my Senators. You know, the panned answer everyone got that wrote their Senator about the immigration bill. Both of them ignored my question, no surprise there, but good old Kay Bailey did a fine job of stating her position on the bill that didn't fly. I could give a rats ass about that bill. I want to know when they are going to start enforcing existing law. I want to know when they are going to bring our manning down here up to speed. What I really want to know, is when are they going to get off their ass and get us some help! I know, right after that junket to Bali, or next week after you go down to spend the week with the lobby at the golf resort. Get off your ass, work with the damn democrats, and fix this freaking border nightmare!

2007-07-09T18:59:00.000-05:00

Although the Border Patrol has gotten the most attention lately, good and bad. The customs folks are on the job too. Along with seizing tons of illicit drugs every day, they do a bang up job keeping us safe from any terrorists that might think of entering the "easy" way through Mexico. I know, you think these people are busy fining people for hiding avocados, and mangoes, but the truth is they do so much more. If you have ever been at the World Trade Bridge on a busy spring afternoon you would know what I mean. The number of trucks that go across that bridge on any given day is astounding. A good number of them have to be inspected, and some of them even unloaded and all of the cargo inspected before the shipment can proceed north. When you give thanks for your Border Zone protectors, don't forget to include these guys. Like our outstanding Border Patrol, these folks lay on the line for you every single day.

2007-07-08T12:12:00.000-05:00

Our Sheriff here in Webb County, Rick Flores, is highly upset because he and the other border sheriffs have been screwed out of the border security funds promised by the governor. So Rick, are you surprised you were used by a career politician? Out of $110 million dollars allocated to border security, border sheriff departments are only getting $17 million. $93 million is going to DPS to hire more troopers, and purchase homeland security related equipment. Many of these border sheriff's are Democrats, and yet they campaigned for Rick Perry because he promised them big time time assistance in the border wars. Well fellas, remember the old saying "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me."

2007-07-07T09:30:00.000-05:00

Cry me a river. Government Executive magazine reports that the NTEU is up in arms over CBP's, non-lethal force training, specifically it's exposing CBP employees to OC Spray, better known as pepper spray. The NTEU is dead wrong here. O.C. exposure training is essential for at least 2 reasons. The 1st is that the officers and agents have to know that the tools they are using are effective, and the 2nd is that they have to learn to "fight through" secondary exposure to the spray in order to apprehend the bad guys. I can tell you from 1st hand experience that this training sucks, I've been exposed over 30 times myself, but it is absolutely necessary. OC is not hazardous material, and it's effects are acute, not chronic. There are zero long term effects linked to OC exposure training. Maybe Colleen Kelly should head up PETA's union.

Border meeting

2007-07-07T08:16:00.000-05:00

If you were from England, and had never set foot in the United States, would you feel uniquely qualified to pass or consider legislation regarding the US? I wouldn't. That is just the situation many members of congress find themselves in, when reviewing legislation considering the border. How can a tax lawyer from Kansas have any idea what forces come to bear in The Border Zone? He, or she doesn't. Step in Congressman Ciro Rodriguez. He is leading a delegation of lawmakers and congressional staffers to the Texas Border Zone this week so that they can hear from local border officials. Thank goodness for men like Ciro Rodriguez and Henry Cuellar, The Border Zone hasn't had high quality representation like this in many years. It's about time.

Who's watching your back?

2007-07-06T12:07:00.000-05:00

Federal Law Enforcement Agents everywhere must be uneasy. Seems like every time deadly force is used on the border the shit hits the fan. Yesterday a BPA shot and wounded a "migrant" that was climbing through a drainage tunnel, and reportedly made an aggressive move towards him. I can see where your options are limited while crawling through a drainage tunnel. Can you use pepper spray? No. How about all those fancy martial arts take downs you learned in the academy? No. Can you see in there? No. My survival instincts have kicked in already just thinking about those questions. I am sure Johnny Sutton is slavering at the mouth to get on this case. Hopefully the NBPC has filled it legal coffers to the brim. Folks, our 1st line guys on the border can't waste time trying to figure out if their actions are going to attract the attention of the US Attorney. These men and women have a big job to do, and they have to rely on their training and instincts to get it done. Trust them to do it right every time. Bet your border on it.

Libby -vs- Border Patrol Agents

2007-07-05T16:50:00.000-05:00

Many Americans are disgusted by our President's commutation of "Scooter" Libby's prison term. Count me as one of them. But no one has a right to be more disgusted, more angry, and more let-down, than Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean. They have been stabbed in the back by the Justice Department, and are much more deserving of having their sentence commuted than Libby. Why does Libby get the kid glove treatment?

God Bless America

2007-07-04T11:46:00.000-05:00

Thank you to all of you working today on the border, keeping us safe on what is just another work day for you folks. Also many thanks to all of those in uniform today wherever you are, thanks for serving and protecting us night and day. You are the reason we are free to celebrate today. God Bless America!