Double Barreled Opinions

CONGRESS CUTS FUNDING FOR MEXICAN TRUCKS

Tell Congress to stop the Bush administration from keeping the program rolling. Alert: Congress has passed a bill that cuts funding for the controversial Mexican truck program, but lawmakers expect the Bush administration to keep the foreign vehicles rolling on American roads amid safety and security concerns. Joe Kasper, spokesman for Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., said that "without federal funding, it will be difficult to continue the program. However, we must expect that the administration will continue looking for ways to do so." The newly passed 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act prohibits the Department of Transportation from using the funds in it "to establish a cross-border motor carrier demonstration program to allow Mexico-domiciled motor carriers to operate beyond the commercial zones...

BILL GUTS BORDER FENCE REQUIREMENT

Tell Congress not eliminate the Secure Fence Act of 2006. Alert: Republican presidential hopeful Duncan Hunter is blasting a Democrat-sponsored bill that would eliminate the requirement passed by Congress to build a double-layered fence covering 854 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. "By eliminating the double fence requirement, the Democratic Congress is going to make it easier for drug and human smugglers to cross our Southern land border," said Hunter. "This goes against the interests of any family that has been touched by illegal drugs or any American who has seen their job taken by an illegal alien." The Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations bill would specifically eliminate the mandate of the Secure Fence Act of 2006. As reported last week, an amendment...

RAMOS, COMPEAN ABANDONED IN BUSH PARDONS

Tell Congress you support the House resolution to free Ramos, Compean. Alert: Carjackers, drug dealers, thieves and a moonshiner have been granted pardons this year by President Bush, but not Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, who were convicted of firing their guns at a fleeing drug smuggler while they were protecting the integrity of the U.S. border with Mexico. However, Rep. William Delahunt, D-Mass., says he is confident his resolution asking President Bush to commute the agents' sentences will pass easily with strong bipartisan support. Delahunt said he plans to deliver to the White House a letter before Christmas, expressing his confidence his House Concurrent Resolution 267 will be approved when Congress reconvenes in January. "In the...

MEXICAN TRUCKS ROLL ON DESPITE OPPOSITION

Tell Congress to Halt the Mexican Truck Program Alert: The Bush administration continues to push forward with its controversial project allowing Mexican trucks to move freely on U.S. roads despite strong protests from both chambers of Congress, where legislation is pending. "Congress has stated clearly that it believes going forward with such a program, without the information needed to assure safety on American roads, is not safe," said Barry Piatt, spokesman for Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D. Dorgan successfully amended the Senate Transportation Appropriations Bill to include language to stop the Mexican Truck Demonstration Program, hoping the Bush administration would respond. However, even though the House and Senate agreed to retain the language, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, or FMCSA,...

MEXICAN TRUCKS FACE HUNDREDS OF SAFETY VIOLATION

Tell Congress to stop 'Clear double standard' for U.S. laws halt the Mexican Trucks. Alert: Members of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association say they have documented hundreds of safety violations by Mexican trucks rolling on U.S. roads under the Department of Transportation's Mexican truck demonstration project. "The Department of Transportation is allowing Mexican long-haul rigs to operate in the United States without requiring U.S. rules and regulations to be enforced," Rick Craig, the director of regulatory affairs for the group, said. "The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is providing exemptions from U.S. safety rules that the FMCSA claim are covered in a Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Mexico," Craig continued. "It's a clear double standard," he said....

FEDS ADMIT SMUGGLER LIED IN RAMOS-COMPEAN CASE

Prosecutor 'overreach' in pursuit of border agents Tell Congress to Free Border Agents Ramos and Compean. Alert: The U.S. government admitted today in federal court that the prosecution's star witness in the criminal trial of Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean - confessed drug dealer Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila - lied under oath. "He told some lies on the stand," Mark Stelmach, the assistant U.S. attorney representing prosecutor U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton said under questioning by a three-judge 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel in New Orleans. Ramos and Compean are appealing prison sentences of 11- and 12-years respectively for a 2005 incident in which they fired on Aldrete-Davila as he fled back into Mexico after smuggling 750 pounds...

RAMOS, COMPEAN APPEALING CONVICTION TODAY IN FEDERAL COURT

Tell Congress to Free Border Agents Ramos and Compean. Alert: With their legal options running out, two agents for the U.S. Border Patrol serving jail sentences in connection with the shooting of a Mexican drug smuggler are appealing their convictions today in federal court. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans is hearing the appeal of agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, and the three-judge panel will typically issue a decision within four to six weeks of hearing the arguments. A judgment in favor of Ramos and Compean could reverse their convictions and demand a new trial. A reversal would be based on legal errors made by the prosecution and/or the judge at the trial...

RAMOS, COMPEAN CHARGE 'OVERZEALOUS' PROSECUTION

Appeals contend wrong law applied, administrative errors criminalized Tell Congress to Free Border Agents Ramos and Compean. Alert: The appellant briefs filed on behalf of convicted Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean argue the case was "overzealously prosecuted by the government," thereby sending "a message to every law enforcement agent that if you shoot in the line of duty and cannot prove that you were justified in using deadly force - regardless of whether you were mistaken in your belief - you will be prosecuted and receive at least 10 years incarceration under 18 U.S.C. Section 924(c), stacked on top of other sentences." FAXDC.com previously reported 18 U.S.C. Section 924(c) was written to increase the penalties when a...