To: All members of the U.S. Congress:
Whereas, U.S. Border Patrol Agent Jesus "Chito" Diaz was recently sentenced to two years in prison for employing a commonly used compliance technique on an illegal alien drug-smuggler suspect in the line of duty;
Whereas, Diaz, a seven-year Border Patrol veteran and husband and father of six, had already been cleared of wrongdoing in two separate investigations – one by Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General and the other by Custom Enforcement's Office of Professional Responsibility – before overzealous federal prosecutors, pressured by the Mexican government, finally insisted on bringing a case;
Whereas, the U.S. attorney's office prosecuting Diaz is the same one that prosecuted Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, whose lengthy prison sentences were commuted by President George W. Bush after a sustained national outcry from both the public and members of Congress;
Whereas, Diaz's prosecution, just like that of Ramos and Compean, was based on the testimony of the illegal alien drug-smuggler suspect after the government granted him immunity for all crimes;
Whereas, former Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo confirms: "In these cases and many others, the U.S. attorney's office was responding to protests from the Mexican government that its citizens were being mistreated by Border Patrol agents. Why do we see this acute sensitivity to the wishes and interests of the corrupt government of Mexico in matters of U.S. criminal law and U.S. border security?";
Whereas, Diaz handcuffed the smuggling suspect after he became uncooperative and resisted arrest, lifting the suspect's arms to force him to the ground – a near-universal police technique – and the suspect was completely uninjured by the incident, except for markings on his shoulders left by the weight of the illegal drugs in his backpack;
Whereas, California Congressman Duncan Hunter has already complained toAttorney General Eric Holder: "For doing his job, Diaz was sentenced to two years in prison for improperly lifting the arms of a 15-year-old drug smuggling suspect while handcuffed. … The Justice Department cited the incident as a deprivation of the smuggler's constitutional right to be free from unreasonable force – something that I find hard to comprehend under the circumstances";
Whereas, the same Holder Justice Department prosecuting Border Patrol agents for doing their job has been supplying ultra-violent Mexican drug cartels with hundreds of high-powered firearms through Operation "Fast and Furious" – which has resulted in countless deaths, including at least one U.S. law enforcement officer;
Whereas, the Law Enforcement Officers Advocates Council concludes: "We have reviewed the paperwork … as well as the official court transcripts. … The government's case is based on false testimony that is contradicted by the facts";
Whereas, the conviction of Diaz for "lifting handcuffs" establishes an extremely dangerous precedent and simultaneously destroys the morale of the 20,400 officers of the Border Patrol who are engaged in a difficult and dangerous job defending our nation's borders from invasion:
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