Border Security

Here's a bit of an update from the story I referenced the other day, courtesy of WorldNetDaily:

Congressmen concerned about the convictions and stiff prison sentences of two Border Patrol agents who injured a Mexican drug dealer they were pursuing say Homeland Security officials told them the pair were "out to shoot Mexicans."

The White House and federal officials have been getting heat for offering the drug dealer immunity to testify against the two lawmen -- Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean – both of whom are Mexican-Americans.

"Getting heat"? No kidding! Why would they expect otherwise? Yeah, let's take the word of an admitted drug dealer over the word of two border patrol agents. I know common sense is dead, but do we have to keep beating it like a dead horse?

The agents were convicted in March of shooting admitted drug smuggler Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila in the buttocks as he ran away from them near the Rio Grande River in February 2005. Ramos and Compean were sentenced last week to 11 and 12 years, respectively.

...

Aldrete-Davila, a Mexican, is now suing the Border Patrol for $5 million for his injury and violation of his rights.

"Violation of his rights"? What rights does a drug-smuggling illegal alien have in our country? You sneak across our border with 743 pounds of marijuana, and you expect to be treated as if you're a law-abiding citizen? You're neither!

So far, the White House has resisted calls for reopening the investigation and dismissed questions about a pardon raised by WND White House correspondent Les Kinsolving. Even asking whether the two agents should be pardoned was "nonsensical," in the words of Bush spokesman Tony Snow.

"That's an unanswerable question, Les," said Snow earlier this week. "The president is the person who is responsible for pardons. You can tell the network, which made you ask that question, that it is nonsensical."

Can anybody help me out on this one? What is Snow trying to say here? Seriously, I don't get it. Is he trying to say that Kinsolving should ask Bush directly about pardoning the agents? Why, as Bush's spokesman, can't Snow answer that? Why is it "unanswerable" or "nonsensical"? I've got an answer for you, Tony. In fact, I've got several options: "Yes." Or "No." Or "Maybe." Or "I haven't spoken with the president about that yet." Or "Hot Pocket!" (Okay, so maybe that last one isn't a good answer, but it would at least be kind of funny.)

Maybe something went on here that we don't know about, and things were handled correctly. I just can't understand how an admitted drug dealer who's smuggling a large shipment of drugs into our country is able to put away the very people responsible for keeping him and his drugs out of our country. It seems like they just did their job.