WASHINGTON D.C. - On Tuesday, President Donald J. Trump granted full and unconditional pardons to U.S. Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean.
In a White House press release the following was stated:
Today, President Trump granted full pardons to Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean. These former Border Patrol Agents have been supported by one hundred members of Congress, including Rep. Louie Gohmert, Rep. Steve King, Rep. Ted Poe, Rep. Paul Gosar, Rep. Brian Babin, as well as the U.S. Border Control Foundation and the Conservative Legal Defense and Education Fund.
Mr. Ramos participates in numerous community activities and charities, and Mr. Compean is active in his local church.
Both men served as Border Patrol Agents and put themselves in harm’s way to help secure our southern border with Mexico. On one such occasion in 2005, they stopped an illegal alien trafficking 700 pounds of marijuana. When the illegal alien—who was thought to be armed—resisted arrest, Mr. Ramos shot the suspect, who fled back across the border. For this, Mr. Ramos and Mr. Compean were charged and convicted of assault, using a firearm during a crime of violence, and deprivation of civil rights. After they were sentenced to 11 and 12 years imprisonment, respectively, their case gained widespread attention.
One hundred members of Congress, as well as the organizations above, supported Mr. Ramos’ and Mr. Compean’s release from prison. The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on the excessive sentence imposed on the former agents.
It could easily be said that former U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, operated more as a hit man for George Bush and the Mexican government, than as an advocate for the American people.
During his tenure, Sutton persecuted American law enforcement officers when they dared to block the path of foreign invaders, thus making the country safe for drug smugglers.
Johnny Sutton first caught the eye of George W. Bush in the early 1980’s. At the time, Sutton was playing baseball for the NCAA National Champion Texas Longhorns and Bush was pretending to be a vital member of the Texas Rangers organization, after his daddy had purchased him a share of the team. The two became fast friends and began a relationship that has benefited both men ever since.
Before being nominated by President Bush as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas in 2001, Sutton Served as a Policy Coordinator for the Bush-Cheney Transition Team, as well as the Criminal Justice Policy Director for Gov. Bush from 1995-2000.
After becoming U.S. Attorney, Sutton began ruining the lives of several diligent and dedicated law enforcement officers who were working to defend our country from illegal aliens and drug smugglers.
Two of those persecuted defenders were Agents Ramos and Compean.
Here is the full story...
Sutton charged these two men with assault with a deadly weapon, various firearms charges, and with violating a drug smuggler’s civil rights.
In February 2005, Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean spotted a van headed across the border into the United States. The agents gave chase and one of them ended up in a scuffle with a Mexican drug smuggler known as Osbaldo Aldrete-Davilla. One of the agents saw a gun in the smuggler’s hand and fired at him, before Aldrete-Davilla fled back across the border into Mexico. The smuggler was shot in the buttocks and was observed jumping into an awaiting vehicle on the Mexican side of the border.
The van driven by the smuggler was left behind along with 743 pounds of marijuana. A few months later, he was caught once again smuggling drugs into this country. While in custody, he was given immunity from prosecution in both cases in exchange for his testimony against Agents Ramos and Compean.
In addition to immunity, the taxpayers assisted him with travel expenses and provided him with medical treatment at a U.S. Army facility in Texas. Once Aldrete-Davilla testified and completed his medical treatments, he promptly filed a $5 million lawsuit against the U.S. Border Patrol for violating his rights.
While Sutton promised that Agent Ramos would not be placed into the general population, that is exactly what happened--leaving him vulnerable to brutal attacks from the very people he once locked up.
In February 2007, Agent Ramos was severely beaten by a group of imprisoned illegal aliens.
This columnist spoke with Agent Ramos’ father-in-law, Joe Loya, three days after the attack.
Joe said that while Ignacio was sleeping, he was dragged out of his bed in the middle of the night and beaten by five illegal alien inmates. Contrary to what Johnny Sutton told the press, Ignacio was placed in the general population of a federal prison in Yazoo City, Mississippi.
Joe reported that the only reason his family knew about the attack was that the following Monday was Ignacio’s birthday and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) obtained special permission for him to call his children to offer them some comfort. His two sons asked their mom (Monica Ramos) to buy a cake, so that they could sing Happy Birthday to their dad on the phone.
Once on the phone with Monica, Ignacio informed her: “Monica, I’m in isolation after I got beat up by five inmates. I had blood coming out of my left ear.” He was apparently kicked several times over his entire body as his attackers shouted in Spanish: "Kill the Border Agent!”
While the attack took place on a Saturday night, Ignacio had still not received any medical treatment by the following Monday evening. After an attack in which he could have sustained serious brain injury, prison officials should have offered immediate treatment...An accommodation that is given to even the most vicious of criminals, but is not offered to a veteran Border Patrol Agent who is responsible for hundreds of drug busts along the border.
Joe’s voice broke as he described the devastation that his family had been experiencing. Ignacio and Monica lost everything during the nearly two year legal battle with the federal government. He said: “We just don’t understand why these people are being so vicious. We are all just worn out after 23 months of this.”
Joe spent his retirement savings on the legal defense of his son-in-law. The family spent well over $250,000 defending this brave agent against the lies of a Mexican drug smuggler as well as those of the Bush administration.
The placement of a former law enforcement officer in the general population of a prison is often a death sentence. By placing such a high profile officer in that population, President Bush effectively signed Agent Ramos’ death warrant.
Fortunately, Ignacio Ramos proved much tougher than the corrupt administration which imprisoned him, and survived.
Sutton’s office received great deal of criticism for his treatment and unfair prosecution of these two agents, and Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) led a movement in Congress to pardon them. Though President Bush commuted their sentences during his last week in office, thus releasing them from prison, both Ramos and Compean remained convicted felons and could never work in law enforcement again.
It should be noted, that Bush only took this action after the Senate Judiciary Committee reviewed the agents' prosecutions in July 2007, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) actually asked Bush for the commutations.
*This reporter is very proud and humbled to have been let into the these folk's lives, and is grateful to President Trump for granting these two brave men and their loyal families, the justice they deserve.
To the Ramos and Compean families, I wish you a very Merry Christmas and may you live long, happy, peaceful lives together. You have already proven your incredible strength.
-Dave Gibson
