Inevitable

It was common to see kids and young adults swimming in the Rio Grande. I recall the first time I saw kids swim within a few feet of the U.S. and then turn around and swim back. “Look” my translator said as he pointed to a camera on the U.S. side of the river. “The kids know that camera is there. Everyone can see it. They know the Border Patrol seems them. They are kids.”

I asked a Border Patrol Agent about people swimming in the river or boating in Lake Amistad, which also separates Mexico from the United States. He said, “Generally, until they touch U.S. soil, we don’t do much with the boats. I mean if it is obvious they are about to stop on our side of the lake, we stop them, but most of the time we wait. As for the river, people have the right to be in the river.”

Sometimes off the cuff remarks from law enforcement officers addresses the practical day to day situations on the ground and may not perfectly reflect the law and official policies. However, what actually happens on the ground is important.

I thought of those kids playing in the Rio Grande when I read in the San Antonio newspaper that a father of three was killed by Border Patrol Agents while the attempted to pick up a swimmer that was likely headed to the USA and not simply playing in the Rio Grande. The story said that a crowd gathered on the Mexican side of the river and were shouting at the officers, “You are drowning him. Stop.” The story also said the people were heckling the officers.

Gunfire erupted. A father of three died in the arms of his 9-year old daughter. The Border Patrol boat sped away. Later, the officers admitted shooting into the crowd and said people were throwing rocks at them. The story raised a few questions in this former law-enforcement officer’s mind.

·         First, would people throw rocks at the boat and risk hitting the Mexican in the water?

·         Second, since the agents felt so threatened that they fled the scene, why did they simply not do so without firing their weapons?

·         Third, if they thought the man was swimming to the USA, why not park their boat near the shoreline? It is likely that the man would have turned around and went back to the Mexican side of the shore.

When the Border Patrol was doubled in size, many people in the Border Patrol acknowledge that the rush to hire agents resulted in people being accepted in the Border Patrol that are not suited to the job. Also, pressure to increase arrests resulted in some over-zealousness on the part of some agents. For example, I’ve witnessed Mexicans being arrested as they tried to cross the International Bridge to return to Mexico. They could have easily been checked for warrants and then be sent on their way. However, they became part of the apprehension statistics. The arresting officers received the same ‘credit’ for these arrests as agents that chased down Mexicans in the desert. An arrest is an arrest.

I recall in 2002 that sailboats in Lake Amistad cruised the border. Thousands of Mexicans walked across the International Bridge, shopped in Del Rio and then returned to Mexico.

I also recall when the Border Patrol instituted the OTM policy. In response to political pressure, the Border Patrol arrested as many Mexicans as possible. The focus on Mexicans was so strong that agents were told not to waste time arresting people on U.S. soil without authorization, other than Mexicans. (OTM stood for other than Mexicans). Unless an illegal alien was from Mexico, Iran and a few other terrorist countries or unless the illegal alien was wanted, the agents were told to give them a citation and to release them.  South American radio, television and news outlets told their audiences, “If you travel to the United States without papers and are stopped by immigration, do not lie and say you are from Mexico. Tell the truth. They are only arresting Mexicans.”

Audiences thought these stories were an elaborate U.S. hoax. People from Latin American would often tell the Border Patrol that they were from Mexico, so they would be deported to a Mexican border city and not sent all the way back home. This way, they could quickly cross the border again.

The very idea that the United States would only issue a citation sounded ludicrous. However, as the policy was confirmed, more unbelievable information came to light. “When an immigration officer catches you, they check the computer to make sure you are not wanted for a crime or on a terrorist watch list. The process can take several hours. They give you a citation that orders you to appear in court, which everyone ignores. Keep that citation! If you are ever stopped by immigration again you can show them your citation. This tells the officers that you’ve already been run through the system and they do not keep you for hours to run you again. It is almost like a Green Card!”

Several Border Patrol Agents confirmed that all of this was true. They all expressed frustration. “We are the pawns. The politicians decide when to ignore Mexicans, when to focus on Mexicans and it makes us sick” said one agent.

Instead of risking the anger of voters by initiating and passing a comprehensive immigration law with a fair temporary work provision, politicians use enforcement as a way of avoiding existing laws and to avoid addressing the issue of illegal immigration. This is not new. It has been going on for more than 50-years.

As the investigation into this most recent death on the border is inevitable. What are not inevitable are changes to border patrol policies and making those policies public. What is not inevitable is a comprehensive immigration law that deals with all issues in a fair way.

After tomorrow there will be more deaths along the border.