Pubdate: Thu, 27 May 2010
Source: El Paso Times (TX)
Copyright: 2010 El Paso Times
Contact: http://www.elpasotimes.com/townhall/ci_14227323
Website: http://www.elpasotimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/829
Author: Maggie Ybarra

NATIONAL GUARD WILL DO BORDER SURVEILLANCE, INTELLIGENCE GATHERING

EL PASO -- The National Guard troops President Barack Obama will send
to the border won't be able to patrol it, arrest people or use deadly
force, U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes said.

The Posse Comitatus Act, a federal law, prohibits federal military
forces from doing law enforcement work. Instead, they will watch the
border, repair vehicles and assist with communications and
intelligence.

Reyes, D-Texas, said he talked to officials in Washington, D.C., on
Tuesday about how the troops might be supervised.

"We need to have assurances that these National Guard units are going
to be out there at the request and under the supervision of the Border
Patrol," he said.

Reyes said he wants Border Patrol officers to be within five minutes
of the troops at all times.

Obama said Tuesday that he will deploy 1,200 troops to the border
under the umbrella of nearly $1.8 million in federal money.

Reyes said that Congress today will look at the bill that would
provide money for Obama's request for National Guard troops and
consider making changes to it.

The funding request is attached to the bill that also pays for the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Former Pecos County District Attorney Albert Valadez said protections
must be in place before troops are sent to the border.

Valadez was the prosecutor in the case of high-school student Esequiel
Hernandez Jr., who was shot and killed by one of the troops deployed
to the U.S.-Mexico border as part of the "war on drugs."

Hernandez was shot while he was herding goats near the border of
Presidio, Texas, in 1997. He was carrying a rifle at the time, said
Valadez, who now has a private practice. Valadez said communication
among law enforcement, the Border Patrol and troops failed the night
Hernandez was killed. A grand jury dismissed criminal charges against
the Marine who fired the shot.

The crime scene investigation was hindered by the commanding officer
of the troops who showed up at the scene, removed the four men in the
Marine patrol and took them to the Thunderbird Motel in Marfa, Valadez
said.

Law enforcement officers on duty that night were probably bullied or
intimidated into allowing the commanding officer to take the troops,
Valadez said. The next day, the story the troops told about the
shooting contradicted the location of the entry wound on Hernandez's
body, Valadez said.

"I don't care how many hours they spent with their commanding
officer," he said. "They can't change an entry wound."

Valadez said he hopes the government has a plan for how to deal with
the troops if a similar situation arises in the future.

"They need to have a plan," he said. "If someone else is shot, there
needs to be an investigation, and there doesn't need to be
interference by federal employees."

Valadez said he hopes those troops will also make an effort to
communicate with police and deputies along the border and keep them
informed of their locations and strategic plans.

"It's important that local law enforcement knows what's going on as
well," he said. "Even though the military is there, it's still state
jurisdiction, so even if someone gets injured or shot, state laws
still apply." 
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