Washington, D.C. – In a joint letter today to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, 21 members of Congress joined Third District Representative Walter B. Jones (R-NC) to express their deep concern over the Justice Department’s wrongheaded prosecution of two U.S. Border Patrol agents for simply doing their jobs to protect our homeland. Among the letter’s signatories are Reps. Tom Tancredo (CO), Chairman of the House Immigration Reform Caucus, and Ted Poe (TX), a former assistant district attorney and criminal court judge.

“Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean should have been commended by our government for their actions last year in attempting to apprehend a Mexican drug smuggler who brought 743 pounds of marijuana across our border,” the letter reads. “But because of an incomprehensible prosecution by the U.S. Attorney’s Office – including granting full immunity to the smuggler so he could testify against our agents – these men may soon receive 20-year prison sentences for firing shots at the fleeing smuggler, who they believed carried a gun. The smuggler – who received complete medical care at William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso, Texas – is now suing the Border Patrol for $5 million for violating his civil rights!”

“The Justice Department’s unjust prosecution does nothing but tie the hands of our Border Patrol and prevent them from securing America against a flood of illegal immigrants, drugs, counterfeit goods and quite possibly, terrorists,” the letter continues. “This demoralizing prosecution puts the rights of illegal alien drug smugglers ahead of our homeland security and undermines the critical mission of better enforcing our immigration laws. The convictions against these agents demand oversight.”

“Due to significant concerns over the circumstances surrounding the prosecution of Agents Ramos and Compean, the House Judiciary Committee has already recognized the need for a thorough review of this case by calling for Congressional hearings and an investigation of the Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” the letter states.

“Mr. Gonzales, we strongly urge the Department of Justice to postpone the sentencing of Agents Ramos and Compean, and to reopen their case for a fuller investigation of the facts,” the letter concludes.

For additional information or to schedule an interview with Congressman Walter B. Jones please contact Kathleen Joyce at (202) 225-3415.