BackGround According to I.N.S. head Jerry Valentine The Border Patrols mission is to maintain control of the International boundaries between the ports of entry by detecting and preventing the smuggling and illegal entry of aliens into the United States As part of its mission, the Border Patrol alsointerdicts narcotics and other contraband In 1991, the Office National Drug control policy designated the Border Patrol as the primary agency for narcotics interdiction between the ports of entry, In accomplishing its mission, the Border Patrol patrols the international boundaries and inspects passengers and vehicles at checkpoints located along highways leading from border areas, at bus and rail stations, and at air terminals The Border Patrol uses its vehicles and aircraft to patrol areas between the ports of entry It also uses electronic equipment, such as sensors and low light level televisions, to detect illegal entry into the country. In addition, the Border Patrol has received funds from other agencies so they can interdict narcotics . But what he doesn't mention, is the internal problem associated with the job. Being the only government Law enforcement agency that has no external review, the oprotunities for impropriety are enormous. In fact, In just the last eight years the power invested in each I.N.S. official has increased three fold. Since 1985 both the power to review bussiness hiring practices and intercede in drug traficing, in addition to their main funcution of enforcing U.S. imigration laws. Can you imagine what type of coruption that could go on a government agency Has many of the powers of the DEA, and The Better Bussiness Bureau. In adittion to the power to control Imigration. And to make it all the more tempting no outside review to worry about. And worst of all few of the agents are properly trained for any of the duties they are to perform. Here are a couple of extreme instances. To allow the uninformed of the gravity of the problem. On the evening of March 18, 1992, a motorist alleges that Tucson Border Patrol Agent Michael Elmer assaulted him, with the motorist requiring stitches for one of his wounds, Later that night witnesses allege that Elmer shot at a group of 30 undocumented immigrants, wounding One of them. Neither of the incidents was reported by Elmer or the other agents who were present. Complaints lodged by the imigrants were ignored. Neither of these incidents or the allegations that Elmer had consumed and sold drugs during a raid, would have been discovered if Elmer had not been reported by , Border Patrol Agent Thomas Watson, who reported the fatal shooting of Dario Miranda vaIenzuela by his partner, In doing so he broke the Border Patrol's traditional code of silence. The Investigation revealed the NogaIes border region to be a modem day Wild West, where agents with little training and or supervision shoot with impunity at suspected drug smugglers. According to trial testimony, Agents Elmer, Watson and three other Border Patrol agents were patrolling a remote canyon near Nogales, Arizona. Agents Elmer and Watson pursued three men whom they believed to be lookouts for drug smugglers. Watson fired warning shots over the head of one of the men they encountered. The three men then fled toward Mexico. Elmer shot at one of the men a dozen times. Two bullets struck the, who was unarmed, in the back. According to Watson's trial testimony, the two agents did not call for medical assistance. but instead considered planting a weapon on Miranda so it would appear to be a legitimate shooting. They also discussed how to dispose of the victim's body. Watson also testified that, when Elmer told him he had shot Miranda," He was happy, the best way I could describe it. like somebody that had shot their first deer. He was elated, and pumped up." After shooting Miranda, Elmer shot at one of the other fleeing men. Elmer then dragged the body into a gully and hid him behind a tree trunk. Agents Watson and Elmer then joined the three other agents in the area and returned to the border patrol station without reporting the shooting. Doctors estimate Miranda may have lived for 30 minutes after he was shot Watson reported the shooting the next day, June 13, approximately 15 hours after it occurred. In his statement, Watson explained that he waited because he was afraid that Elmer would harm him if he reported the shooting the day it happened. Elmer was arrested and became the first Border Patrol agent to be charged and tried for murder. In April 1993, Watson was fired by the Border Patrol for waiting 15 hours before reporting the killing and other violations. He told the Los Angeles Times "its a big coverup. I broke the code of silence and now they Want to get back at me. I knew I was doing the right thing by turning him in for murder." The other three agents who had observed the Miranda shooting were not disciplined for failing to report the shooting and are believed to remain on the force. During the investigation into the Miranda shooting other abuses involving Agent Elmer came to light. Rene Romero was stopped by Border Patrol agents while driving in southern Arizona near Tucson. According to Romero, E1mer pulled him from his car, threw him to the threatened to kill him, Romero states that Elmer then pulled Romero's pants down and told him to "bend down as if you're going to get fucked," and then told Romero to "open up his ass," After he was searched, Elmer hit him in the stomach and ribs, The agents then took Romero to the Border Patrol station in Nogales. Two hours prior to this incident Border Patrol agents were patrolling the Hindz Ridge area for drug smugglers, They were directed to an area where a surveillance team had Spotted a group of 30 people. Six agents pursued the group. Agent Elmer encountering them first, He began shooting between the legs and feet of the individuals he encountered, and shouting at them. Francisco Salgado-Munoz, one of the undocumented immigrants, later testified during the Elmer trial that he had been shot in the stomach and leg during the attack. Border Patrol Agent Luis Santiago Esteves Evidence indicates that Luis Santiago Esteves problems with law enforcement began years before he donned a Border Patrol uniform While in the Army Esteves was arrested for allegedly beating his first wife. Charges in that case were dropped. When Eteves was prosecuted for the rape of two women last summer, his second wife, Lucille Mal testified that he had raped her, and threatened to rape her 10-year-old daughter. Once on the force, Esteves was reported to have been involved in three incidents of sexual misconduct committed against women whom he first encountered while on duty. The first incident Occurred on October 6. 1989. On that date, according to the court records," Ima Cadilla, a teacher and U.S. citizen, was travelling north along Highway 86 in Imperial County, California, when she was STOPPED at an immigration checkpoint. Agent Esteves inquired about her citizenship, and determined that she was a U.S. citizen, and let her vehicle pass. About five miles down the road, Ms. Cadilla noticed a vehicle approaching with flashing lights. She pulled over to the side of the road. The vehicle turned off all lights, and Esteves got out of the car and approached her. Esteves asked Cadilla Several questions which she answered, believing them to be official in nature. Esteves then asked Cadilla for her telephone number and talked to her about himself for fifteen minutes. He asked her if she would be home for the week. She said no. Esteves told her "that was too bad, because he wanted to take her out dancing, get drunk and have her sexualy abuse his body " According to the Los Angeles Times, The Border Patrol took no action when this incident was reported. Two months later. December 16, 1989, twenty-year-old Maria was stopped by Esteves in Calexico, Maria agreed to go out with him, but said that he first would .have to take her to her mothers house for permission. Esteves said that he would have to go to his house first so that he could change clothes. Once at Esteves house they exchanged small talk. Then Esteves told her he wanted her to "be with him. " At this point Maria describes him "changing' in his attitude and he became angry. He told her she had to have sex with him. He told her to take a shower and positioned a gun on each side of the bed on two nightstands. Esteves then told Maria to take her clothes off. Fearful because of the tone of his voice and the location of the two guns, she complied. Esteves then proceeded to force an object into her vagina, placed his hands into various parts of her body, orally copulated her and forced her to have intercourse with him. Maria reported to officers that she was afraid and never consented to any of the sexual acts. When Esteves left the room, Maria fled from the house, climbing a six foot fence and breaking her ankle in her haste to get away. Shortly thereafter Esteves was arrested and the local District Attorney's Office filed rape charge him ,while the case was pending Esteves was suspended from the force. However, Maria failed to appear in court for preliminary hearing, probably due to fear of reprisal. And The District Attorneys Office was forced to drop the case against Esteves for lack of prosecution witness ln July 1991, Esteves was arrested again, This time he was charged with the rape of another woman, seventeen-year-old Rosa, whom he had stopped while on duty. According to Rosa's testimony, on June 23, 1991 she and her mother were standing on the US, side of the border fence in Calexico talking to her grandmother and her sister who were on the Mexican side of the fence. Esteves approached the women and asked for their immigration papers. Esteves spoke with rosa's mother for some time, and found out that rosa had an upcoming deportation hearing, He offered to assist her in that hearing. The following day, he called her and told her not to worry about the deportation hearing. Esteves took Rosa out and picked her up at 10:45 p.m., and bought her two mixed drinks. He then took her to the vacant apartment of a Border Patrol friend. Rosas testimony indicted, that Esteves became angry shortly after they arrived, and Esteves told her to take off her clothes. he then ordered her to masturbate. When she refused, he placed his hand on his gun. Rosa testified that throughout the encounter, Esteves repeatedly slapped her and at one point he punched her. Rosa contends that Esteves then sodomized her. At one point he told her, "I know what I'm doing. And I am capable of everything and if I want I can rape your mother." vid-kid