Attempted Hit On Ramos Family : Have They No Shame?

Having a loved one in prison is a grueling experience. A fleeting visit to a spouse, sibling or father is sandwiched between two car or bus trips that are often many hours long. Some chromosomal human decided that the family of border patrol agent Ignacio Ramos needs to suffer even more than what they are already after he and fellow border patrol agent Jose Compean were sentenced to eleven and twelve years respectively after shooting at a fleeing drug dealer attempting to cross the US Mexican border illegally.

According to World Net Daily, the Ramos family's house was booby trapped after extensive vandalism in an apparent attempt to kill them. WND describes the attack as follows.

"The family of imprisoned Border Patrol agent Ignacio Ramos was the victim of an attempted hit on their lives this month, as the agent's wife says someone broke into their home and filled it with gas, trashing photographs and pummeling their dog.(emphasis mine)
Just weeks after Monica Ramos spoke with WND about the difficulty of enduring Christmas without her husband, her family returned from visiting Ignacio in prison on Jan 3. While she was away, burglars stole DVDS, a BB gun and cell phone and slashed her couch with a knife.

They even beat her dog and ripped cherished wedding pictures and family photos of their life with Ignacio off the walls, smashing them on the ground."

It could be argued that a recruiter for the Border Patrol helped create a hateful climate in the town where the Ramos family lives by condemning the two border patrol agents in a speech promoting a career on the Border Patrol during which a son of Ignacio Ramos was sitting in the audience. WND reports the incident as follows.



The family of imprisoned Border Patrol agent Ignacio Ramos was the victim of an attempted hit on their lives this month, as the agent's wife says someone broke into their home and filled it with gas, trashing photographs and pummeling their dog.

Just weeks after Monica Ramos spoke with WND about the difficulty of enduring Christmas without her husband, her family returned from visiting Ignacio in prison on Jan 3. While she was away, burglars stole DVDS, a BB gun and cell phone and slashed her couch with a knife They even beat her dog and ripped cherished wedding pictures and family photos of their life with Ignacio off the walls, smashing them on the ground. But the vandalism wasn't the worst part, Monica revealed in a Jan. 12 interview"It wasn't so much that stuff was burglarized or that they actually took much," she said. "What was really hard was that when we got here, the gas was turned on. It was very intentional in that somebody was trying to hurt us."

Her son opened the front door and discovered the strong odor.

"Right away he alerted me," she said. "He started yelling, 'Mom, don't walk in. Don't bring my brothers.' He said, 'The gas is on!' He ran in and started turning everything off."

Her father, Joe Loya, wrote on his blog, "Thank God no one turned on a light! Monica and her three boys would be gone!"

Monica said she believes the gas was left on for two days.

Her 11-year-old son walked into their home and started crying, 'Look at our house. Haven't they done enough?'

Then he said, "Why won't the president just let my dad come home? This wouldn't have happened."

Both Ramos and Compean face danger in prison, where they must be segregated from a population that includes many illegal immigrants who commited felonies after evading border patrols. Such individuals of course would love to take revenge on those whose job it is to enforce immigration laws. Now the families face a climate of feear in the communities in which they live. What support has the Border Patrol provided ? WND reports as follows

"Her older son has also faced troubling circumstances at school due to his father's imprisonment.

"Three months ago, his high school hosted a career day. Border Patrol agents spoke with students about the field.

Monica said one Border Patrol agent stood in front of the student body and said, "I know many of you may have heard about this Ramos-Compean case, and we just want you to know that we got rid of two bad apples. You know, not all agents are rogue agents. They're not out to break the laws."

"I thought, 'Oh my God. Is this propaganda?' Monica said. "This is what you are using as your hiring technique? Did they not ever think that my son was going to be part of that student body? My son got a lot of heat at school."

She talked to the school and reported the incident to the Department of Homeland Security."

The families of both Ramos and Compean live in areas with a large Mexican population, where sympathy for illegal immigrants runs high. The Border Patrol has taken no consideration of the difficulties faced by the Ramos and Compean family. The speech given by the Border Patrol recruiter in front of Ignacio Ramos' child is tantamount to incitement. It could be argued that the speech in which the two agents were called "bad apples" added to an atmosphere of hatred that made the attack on the Ramos family a likely outcome.

I would have given a different speech in light of the harsh sentences meted out to Compean and Ramos. It would read as follows.

"When you stand at our nation's border, you will be a symbol of our nation's sovereignty. The key word is "symbol". You will be armed. You will have a uniform. But there will be a thick book of directives that change regularly, and you will be liable to imprisonment if you break them.

If you just ride in your Border Patrol car and go through the motions, you will collect a pension at retirement time. If someone gets away from you, no one will care. But if with the help of a prison lawyer and a cooperative jury you are sued, the Border Patrol will cut you loose. So don't make waves. Illegal aliens are big business. They keep wages down. They keep American workers from getting too pushy. You will be a decoration and a well paid one at that. Don't take your job too seriously. Because your government doesn't. Our border is easy to cross because we want it that way. And don't forget it."

The treatment of the Ramos and Compean families is an outrage. Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos should be reunited with their families as soon as possible. George W. Bush wants to be remembered as a compassionate conservative. Pardoning Compean and Ramos will establish that as his legacy. He should pardon them now. It's the right thing to do.