In an effort to suppress ongoing Border Patrol abuse and corruption, the federal immigration agency has a new boss: Mark Morgan, a senior FBI official who leads the bureau’s training division. It will be the first time in 92 years that an “outsider” heads the troubled Border Patrol, according to an article on the Los Angeles Times.
As the article says, Morgan is inheriting an agency accused of not doing much to fight corruption by drug cartels and human smugglers, as well as downplaying fatal shootings of unarmed people, including 16-year-old boy José Antonio Elena Rodríguez, who was killed in October 2012 in a crossborder shooting in Ambos Nogales, where Border Patrol agent Lonnie Ray Swartz shot José Antonio 10 times through the border fence. José Antonio collapsed on a sidewalk in Calle Internacional in Nogales, Sonora. He died of fatal wounds to the head, lungs and arteries. Swartz’s trial for second-degree murder begins Nov. 7. Border agents allege José Antonio was throwing rocks in their direction.
There have also been several lawsuits against Border Patrol over racially profiling people of color driving through checkpoints.
Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection R. Gil Kerlikowske, who appointed Morgan to lead Border Patrol, said in a statement that Morgan has “strong law enforcement and leadership credentials,” according to the LA Times article.
The Border Patrol union wasn’t as happy, saying Kerlikowske ignored viable candidates within the agency, such as Ronald D. Vitiello, a Border Patrol veteran who has served as acting chief, the LA Times article reports.
“How can someone who has never made an immigration arrest in his career expect to lead an agency whose primary duty is to make immigration arrests? said Joshua Wilson, a spokesman for the Border Patrol union’s chapter in San Diego, according to the LA Times article.
Good luck, Morgan.
This article appears in Jun 16-22, 2016.
The Boarder Patrol is a good group that wants to, try’s to do its job, but is held back by a DOJ that is more concerned about hurting illegal alien’s feelings that protecting American citizens. Then you add “” People Helping People”” and other loony groups; how can we expect any results.
As for the guy killed throwing rocks; he was committing a violent criminal act and justice was served. Let Swartz go and give him a pay raise for good work.
The three stooges in the chairs ought to set up with binoculars in Washington and watch the government waste us blind.
The DOJ was shamed into a little more of the truth yesterday on the Orlando shooter. They are a pawn to a President that refuses to accept islamic terrorism for what it is.
I know, I know he got Bin Laden.
Or did he?
Bisbee boy might like to travel to Nogales to inspect the site where 16-year-old Jose Antonio was shot in the back 10 times.
(Across an International Border, no less.)
I’d love to see him try to heave a rock 40 feet over an 18-foot fence that is perched on a cliff 22 feet high. (That is, if he could even find a rock there on a well-paved street in the business district of Nogales Centro, Sonora.)
The absurd assertion that Jose Antonio was throwing rocks keeps arising, despite the fact that a Grand Jury saw the video tape of the incident and made a judgment that resulted in Officer Lonnie Ray Swartz’s criminal indictment for 2nd degree murder.
Find a rock in Mexico? Not possible. There are no rocks in Mexico. Or bricks. Or cinder blocks.
I like how the journalist portrays the corruption as fact but calls the rock-throwing “alleged”. Biased much?
I applaud any effort to clean up the corruption in the Border Patrol. The agency has long been allowed to police itself and so has been increasingly unwilling to do so. The Border Patrol’s union, like some of the trolls here, want to blame the Democrats for the agency’s excesses. And they are partly right, since the largest expansion of the BP came under Clinton. But we apparently must be reminded that the expansion into an agency officially above the law came under W Bush, when he created a whole new branch called “Homeland Security”.
I do not support union busting until now. This is one union that needs to be reigned in if not broken up.
1) Border Patrol is not governed by the DOJ. It is part of DHS.
2) No one in the Border Patrol is condoning the Nogales shooting. Everyone is reserving judgment until all the facts are revealed. There are 21,000 agents nationwide that work hard day in and day out. Do not undermine the work because of a potentially bad shoot scenario. If it is found to be a bad shoot, he will be held accountable, just like any one else would be. No one is applauding the death of a 16 year old so stop acting like agents are happy this kid is dead.
3) The article is incredibly misleading. The purpose of hiring Moran is not to “clean up” the agency. Moran’s former position was to evaluate and make recommendations on Border Patrol’s use of force policy, not to “stop corruption.” And FYI, all use of force incidents are reviewed by internal affairs, the office of chief counsel, and individuals from outside agencies. The Border Patrol isn’t some organization that “governs itself”, each use of force scenario is reviewed by members outside the agency. Moran is an experienced law enforcement professional with a diverse background, that is why he was hired. Also, the Border Patrol is no more or less corrupt than any company, law enforcement agency, or government entity. The have the same percentage of corruption as any group or organization in the United States, law enforcement or not.
4) Many of the opponents to the Border Patrol have opinions based on emotion, not enforcement. Immigration is a hot button issue that centers on emotional ties to the issue and emotional ties to one’s interpretation of the role of the federal government. There are laws on the books and agents uphold the laws to the best of their abilities.