Jim Kouri
Border agent indicted for violating illegal alien's rights
By Jim Kouri
In almost total secrecy, the Obama Justice Department has charged a U.S. Border Patrol agent, Luis Fonseca, for depriving the rights of a yet to be identified illegal alien at the Border Patrol station located on Imperial Beach, California, last July. Fonseca, however, was not indicted until a week ago.
Agent Fonseca, 32, allegedly kneed and choked an unidentified alien during his tour near the Mexican border last summer. During his arraignment on Monday April 16, he entered a not guilty plea.
A grand jury had handed down the indictment on April 12, but details were withheld and the DOJ neglected to promulgate why the legal action was taken against the Border Patrol agent, according to an "Inside-the-Beltway" public-interest group that investigates and exposes government corruption and misconduct.
"Border Patrol Agent Fonseca kneed and choked an unidentified alien, depriving him of the right under the Constitution and the laws of the United States to be free from use of unreasonable force by a law enforcement officer," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement. "The indictment also alleges as a result of the use of unreasonable force the individual sustained bodily injury."
According to Department of Justice's records, a federal grand jury indicted Fonseca on a single charge of deprivation of rights under color of law. The charge, a civil rights violation, carries a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment.
The case is problematic for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the government's secrecy surrounding details. In the one-page indictment the illegal immigrant is identified only as "UA#1." The document also claims that, as a result of the use of "unreasonable force" the undocumented alien sustained some kind of "bodily injury" yet no further details are provided, according to Judicial Watch's Corruption Chronicles.
"The grand jury indictment is dated April 12, 2012 which means the feds dragged their feet, probably because they knew it was a weak case," stated the Judicial Watch's entry .
Fonseca was arrested on Friday during a shift at the Border Patrol's Imperial Beach station and is currently on paid leave. He pleaded not guilty in federal court this week, according to DOJ records.
Here is why the DOJ is going after the particular agent, according to the federal prosecutor handling the case: "People detained at the border should be treated with human dignity and respect by federal agents. It is important for the public to know that the Department of Justice takes alleged civil rights violations seriously. We have processes in place to investigate and will take action where appropriate to protect those rights."
Many law enforcement professionals are highly suspicious of this latest case of a Border Patrol agent being "dragged into court by the Obama Justice Department.
"It's clear that Obama's sympathies are with the illegal aliens entering the U.S. He's all but told U.S. immigration and border officials to stop enforcing the law. This is just another message from the Obama Administration to Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to not be too zealous in doing their jobs," claims former New York City Detective Jeff Knudson.
On top of the DOJ's actions against Fonseca, — himself a Latino — the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General is also investigating the matter.
"Perhaps when that report is finished, more information will be revealed to the public. For instance, the victim's identity and the exact bodily injury that he or she supposedly suffered at the hands of the Border Patrol agent accused of committing the choking and kneeing," states the Judicial Watch posting. www.judicialwatch.org
The U.S. government has worked hard to protect illegal immigrants and their "constitutional" rights in the last few years. This has empowered them to file a number of lawsuits against local and federal law enforcement agencies for violating their rights. In Connecticut a group of illegal aliens sued the government for violating their constitutional rights during the operation that led to their apprehension.
In New York an illegal immigrant with a lengthy criminal record got a $145,000 settlement from the state for having his civil rights violated during one of his many arrests. In Maryland an illegal immigrant from El Salvador for unlawfully and unconstitutionally detaining her based on race and in California illegal aliens sued a city for banning them from seeking work on public streets.
The Law Enforcement Examiner has regularly exposed President Barack Obama's illegal-alien relatives, one of whom was arrested for drunk driving in Massachusetts.
© Jim Kouri
April 23, 2012
In almost total secrecy, the Obama Justice Department has charged a U.S. Border Patrol agent, Luis Fonseca, for depriving the rights of a yet to be identified illegal alien at the Border Patrol station located on Imperial Beach, California, last July. Fonseca, however, was not indicted until a week ago.
Agent Fonseca, 32, allegedly kneed and choked an unidentified alien during his tour near the Mexican border last summer. During his arraignment on Monday April 16, he entered a not guilty plea.
A grand jury had handed down the indictment on April 12, but details were withheld and the DOJ neglected to promulgate why the legal action was taken against the Border Patrol agent, according to an "Inside-the-Beltway" public-interest group that investigates and exposes government corruption and misconduct.
"Border Patrol Agent Fonseca kneed and choked an unidentified alien, depriving him of the right under the Constitution and the laws of the United States to be free from use of unreasonable force by a law enforcement officer," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement. "The indictment also alleges as a result of the use of unreasonable force the individual sustained bodily injury."
According to Department of Justice's records, a federal grand jury indicted Fonseca on a single charge of deprivation of rights under color of law. The charge, a civil rights violation, carries a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment.
The case is problematic for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the government's secrecy surrounding details. In the one-page indictment the illegal immigrant is identified only as "UA#1." The document also claims that, as a result of the use of "unreasonable force" the undocumented alien sustained some kind of "bodily injury" yet no further details are provided, according to Judicial Watch's Corruption Chronicles.
"The grand jury indictment is dated April 12, 2012 which means the feds dragged their feet, probably because they knew it was a weak case," stated the Judicial Watch's entry .
Fonseca was arrested on Friday during a shift at the Border Patrol's Imperial Beach station and is currently on paid leave. He pleaded not guilty in federal court this week, according to DOJ records.
Here is why the DOJ is going after the particular agent, according to the federal prosecutor handling the case: "People detained at the border should be treated with human dignity and respect by federal agents. It is important for the public to know that the Department of Justice takes alleged civil rights violations seriously. We have processes in place to investigate and will take action where appropriate to protect those rights."
Many law enforcement professionals are highly suspicious of this latest case of a Border Patrol agent being "dragged into court by the Obama Justice Department.
"It's clear that Obama's sympathies are with the illegal aliens entering the U.S. He's all but told U.S. immigration and border officials to stop enforcing the law. This is just another message from the Obama Administration to Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to not be too zealous in doing their jobs," claims former New York City Detective Jeff Knudson.
On top of the DOJ's actions against Fonseca, — himself a Latino — the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General is also investigating the matter.
"Perhaps when that report is finished, more information will be revealed to the public. For instance, the victim's identity and the exact bodily injury that he or she supposedly suffered at the hands of the Border Patrol agent accused of committing the choking and kneeing," states the Judicial Watch posting. www.judicialwatch.org
The U.S. government has worked hard to protect illegal immigrants and their "constitutional" rights in the last few years. This has empowered them to file a number of lawsuits against local and federal law enforcement agencies for violating their rights. In Connecticut a group of illegal aliens sued the government for violating their constitutional rights during the operation that led to their apprehension.
In New York an illegal immigrant with a lengthy criminal record got a $145,000 settlement from the state for having his civil rights violated during one of his many arrests. In Maryland an illegal immigrant from El Salvador for unlawfully and unconstitutionally detaining her based on race and in California illegal aliens sued a city for banning them from seeking work on public streets.
The Law Enforcement Examiner has regularly exposed President Barack Obama's illegal-alien relatives, one of whom was arrested for drunk driving in Massachusetts.
© Jim Kouri
The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)