FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 26, 2012 – 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 DHS investigators and prosecutors from the US Attorney’s office. This case continues the tradition of bias against Border Patrol agents in the Western District of Texas.
The National Border Patrol Council 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. 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.
