Anniversary of Border Shooting

Border Network Statement on the Fourth Anniversary of the Killing of Juan Patricio Peraza

February 22, 2007

Four years ago, in a cold morning on this same day, a Border Patrol agent shot and killed the young Mexican immigrant Juan Patricio Peraza. A wrongful judicial process took place that resulted in absolving the Border Patrol agent.

No evidence was enough to bring justice. It did not matter that Juan Patricio never presented a danger to the dozens of agents that had surrounded him. It did not matter that Border Patrol agents should have used non-lethal force to control the situation. It did not matter that most Federal Immigration Agents lacked appropriate training in the use of firearms against the civilian population. It did not matter the history of similar incidents of brutality and impunity of border enforcement agents.

It did not matter that Juan Patricio left everything behind to look for a better future for his family. It did not matter that they were not only killing a young Mexican man, but they were killing the hopes and aspiration of many that considered our country, the United States, a place of opportunity, fairness, but, moreover, of justice for all.

After the killing of Juan Patricio, other shooting incidents have occurred in our border region, some of them resulting in the death of immigrants. In San Diego, the Mexican immigrant Guillermo Valenzuela was shot and kill by a Border Patrol agent on December of 2005. In 2006, Francisco Javier Dominguez Rivera was shot and kill by a Border Patrol agent in Arizona. In neither of these cases has justice been served.

These are not, and have never been, isolated incidents. They are part of a culture of abuse and a systematic lack of respect for the lives and rights of immigrant and border residents. Therefore, the border and immigrant communities of the Border Network for Human Right declare:

Justice must be served in the case of Juan Patricio Peraza. The Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Defense ought to re-open the investigations of the killing and conduct a fair and moral process to restore the confidence in our judicial structure. This request is also extended for the killing of Guillermo Valenzuela and Francisco Javier Dominguez Rivera.
The United States Congress must hold congressional hearing on the increasing use of lethal force by federal agents against immigrants and the civil population at the US/Mexico border.
The United States Congress must create a Independent Federal Review Commission to monitor, oversee, and make agents and agencies accountable to the US Constitution and to the people of the United States.

The Bush administration should intensively review the training and certification of Federal Immigration Agents, especially when it comes to the civil and human rights of border communities and in the use of non-lethal strategies during border enforcement operations.
Bringing justice to Juan Patricio is a responsibility of our society as a whole. Is a responsibility of every man and women that believes in our core values of accountability, respect, and humanity. Lets not fail.

We are all Juan Patricio!!!

In behalf of the Border Network for Human Rights

Fernando Garcia
Executive Director

Fernando Garcia
Border Network for Human Rights
2101-A Myrtle Ave
El Paso, TX 79901
(915) 577-0724

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