Associated Press Writer
MEXICO CITY (AP) - The Mexican government sent a diplomatic note to the United States on Tuesday protesting the fatal shooting of a Mexican immigrant by a U.S. Border Patrol agent.
The note, presented by the Mexican Embassy in Washington, relayed ``the Mexican government's firm condemnation'' of the shooting and its ``serious concern over the recurrence of this type of incident,'' according to a Foreign Relations Department news release.
The diplomatic note underscored Mexico's demand that the U.S. conduct ``an exhaustive investigation'' and punish whoever is responsible, the release said.
Francisco Javier Dominguez-Rivera, 22, of Puebla, Mexico, was killed Friday in a confrontation with the unidentified agent north of the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona between Bisbee and Douglas.
A group of seven people were crossing the desert and the agent took six of them into custody without incident, authorities said.
But the agent and Dominguez-Rivera began fighting, authorities said. The agent, who believed his life was in danger, shot and killed the man, the Border Patrol said previously. An autopsy was scheduled Wednesday.
On Sunday, Mexican President Felipe Calderon expressed his ``most energetic protest'' against the shooting.
The agent is on paid administrative leave while the case is pending. An FBI spokeswoman in Arizona said both county and federal investigations were under way and that there could be a civil rights investigation.
Mexican consular personnel have met with Dominguez Rivera's brothers and the four others who are being held in a detention center in an effort to obtain their version of Friday's events, the Foreign Relations Department said.
Agents to report to prison today
Judge rules they must serve while court considers appeals
By Sara A. Carter, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 01/17/2007 12:00:00 AM PST
Two U.S. Border Patrol agents accused of shooting a Mexican drug smuggler will have to sit in prison as they appeal their case to the 5th Circuit Court in New Orleans.
Late Tuesday afternoon, Judge Kathleen Cardone, of El Paso, Texas, denied Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean's motion to stay out on bond while they appeal their case.
Cardone's response stated that both agents must surrender to the United States Marshal by noon (PST) today.
"Because the defendant has been convicted of a crime of violence, he is eligible for release pending appeal only for `exceptional reasons'," Cardone's response to the motion read. "The court finds that no `exceptional reasons' exist in this case."
Compean and Ramos were sentenced in October to 12 and 11 years, respectively, in federal prison for the non-fatal shooting of a Mexican drug smuggler. Both men said they believed the smuggler was carrying a weapon during a foot chase along the Texas-Mexico border on Feb. 17, 2005.
Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila, the smuggler, was given immunity by the U.S. government in exchange for testifying against the agents. He also received medical treatment at a U.S. Army hospital after the shooting. He is suing the Border Patrol for $5 million.
Cardone's ruling hit the Compean family hard Tuesday.
Compean and his wife, Patty, had spent a quiet day at home with their three children, hoping for the best, they said.
"I'm just spending time with my children before tomorrow," Jose Compean said. "No matter what happens, I still have hope. We are not going to give up. We are a strong family, and tonight we're going to stay together as a family."
"How will my children cope with this?" Patty Compean asked. "My husband is a good man and a good father. Sometimes I just don't know how this all happened."
The families had hoped Cardone would allow the agents to remain free after considering the more than 250,000 signatures collected nationwide and delivered to the White House Tuesday, asking for a presidential pardon for the men.
White House officials did not respond Tuesday. Last week during a White House press briefing, spokesman Tony Snow said he couldn't comment about a presidential pardon but noted the agents were convicted by a jury.
"At the time this happened, they did not know if he (Aldrete-Davila) was an illegal," Snow said. "They did not know that there were 700 pounds of marijuana. They didn't know any of those things."
TJ Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council, the organization representing more than 11,000 Border Patrol agents, said Compean and Ramos do not pose a flight risk and that the government is sending a bad message to law enforcement officers by putting the men in prison.
"The judge's decision to deny bond pending appeal is devastating in a number of respects," Bonner said. "In addition to tearing apart two young families, it destroys the morale of law enforcement officers across the nation and undermines the public's faith in our system of justice."
Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, who along with more than 50 other congressmen has been advocating for the agents since August, said more than a decade in prison for each man is a harsh punishment.
"The government had to choose between supporting a drug dealer or supporting their own border agents," Poe said. "They chose to support a drug dealer. The federal government was on the wrong side of the border that day."
Repeated attempts by numerous members of Congress, grass-roots organizations and supporters to get a presidential pardon for the two agents have fallen on deaf ears at the White House, said Andy Ramirez, chairman of the Chino-based Friends of the Border Patrol.
Last week, more than 100 law enforcement officers and residents of El Paso joined Ramirez and Bonner at a candlelight vigil for the agents near the El Paso Federal Courthouse.
The agents and their families have said the outpouring of support from across the nation has helped them through their ordeal.
"You can never lose hope," Patty Compean said, holding back tears. "Not even in the last minute."
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