Three Texas National Guardsmen serving on the U.S.-Mexican border were charged on Monday with taking cash to smuggle 24 illegal immigrants into the U.S.
The three Guardsmen charged were Jose Rodrigo Tores, Julio Cesar Pacheco and Clarance Hodge Jr.
Tores was arrested while in uniform driving south of San Antonio with the immigrants in his van.
According to prosecutors in the case, Pacheco and Hodge had been paid to approach the van at a U.S. Border Patrol check point in an attempt to appear as if they were conducting National Guard buisness.
Pacheco is suspected of bein the ringleader of the operation, which could have invloved several smuggling trips. The 2 other guardsmen were said to have been paid anywhere from $1,000.00 to $3000.00 per trip.
After interviews with the immigrants, several stated that they were charged $2,000.00 each.
These three Guardsmen were part of Operation Jumpstart, and were on our border with Mexico to prevent the very thing that they were invloved in.
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Comments: 17
Make up your mind already, Neocons!
Bush will probably give them the medal of freedom ;-)
And what an odd reaction to this bit of news, to turn right around and assume the border guards arrested in a previous shooting incident can't possibly have been involved in a smuggling scheme gone bad. I really don't understand the surprise or the rush to judgment in either case.
But realize, police steal, and doctors disfigure people on purpose, and priests sexually assault children. Hell, even Presidents step outside the law sometimes. It would be prudent, I think, to simply abandon any notions about good guys and bad guys. Most people are decent, but among any sizable group, you get a smattering of criminals.
That's what the government does.
The border agents will probably at least be fired , doing their jobs , the nerve.
You would have to shoot the congress and bush for treason also.
There is about as much of a chance of that happening as securing our borders and ports.
John brought out an interesting point. To add more, just how many other Guardsmen or Border Patrol Agents are smuggling immigrants across our border ?
What makes this different than a Preist stepping out of bounds is that these guys are supposed to be protecting our border and National Security is most important.
Call and give the radio audience the phone number to call and a list of the Senators who they need to contact to say NO to this immigration bill---no matter what amendments they add.