by RS Coolidge

Created on: December 31, 2008

Those who have grown cynical of the criminal justice system could only cringe with disgust when Aldrete Davila was arrested in November of 2007 for attempting to smuggle 750 lbs of marijuana into the United States. However, those same critics gained a degree of satisfication on August 8, 2008 when Mr Davilia was sentenced to 9 1/2 years in a Federal Prison for his initial 2005 arrest. Such has been the nature of the topsy turvy drama that has unfolded between the Border Patrol, Mr Davila and the Criminal Justice system.

When Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Campean first encountered Mexican trucker Aldrete Davila on February 17, 2005, it is highly unlikely that any of the three suspected they would soon find themselves caught up in a drama that would ignite national controversy. The exact sequence of events is unknown but two things are certain: nearly 800 pounds of marijuana was found in the back of Mr Davila's van and agent Ramos subsequently shot and injured Mr Davila.

The agents contended that they believed Mr Davila was armed and thus the shooting was an act of self defense. Despite public assertions by Davila's own mother that Mr Davila never went on a drug run without carrying a weapon, the two agents were convicted in a Texas Federal Court of assault and civil rights violations. Ramos was sentenced to 11 years and a day in prison while Campean received 12 years.

For most Americans, the conviction of Ramos and Campean was an outrage. If the events of 9/11 proved anything it was just how vulnerable this nation was due to our lack of strong immigration control. The porous borders along Mexico represented a 'clear and present danger' to America's security . The Department of Homeland Security was created to deal with such a crisis and, in the case of Ramos and Campean, the system failed miserably. On the one hand, you had two hard working Border Patrol agents with impeccable records. On the other hand, you had a mexican trucker trying to smuggle illicit drugs into the country. In the battle for justice how could a drug smuggler be allowed to win?. To add insult to injury, Davila filed a 5 million dollar lawsuit claiming civil rights violations.

The Davila incident had another major side effect: it furthered the cause of the most xenophobic of Americans. One need only scan the internet to find hate groups using Mr Davila as a 'cause celebe' in the advancement of their poisonous agenda. These hate groups are especially adept at highlighting Mr Davila's hispanic heritage while overlooking the same hispanic heritage of the two Border Patrol Agents. For those struggling to make a living in a poor economy and looking for someone to blame, immigrants are always an easy target. By his actions, Davila essentially painted a bullseye on the hispanic community

Mr Davila's recent troubles may be 'just desserts' but it comes with some bad after tastes. The first being why was Davila given a shorter sentence than both Ramos and Campean? The second being while his recent troubles may prove conclusively that Mr Davila was indeed a 'bad guy', it does nothing for the 'good guys' who are still in prison. When President Bush issued 19 pardons at the end of his term, a drug dealer and a weapon's smuggler made the list. Two names that were curiously missing ,however, were Ignacio Ramos and Jose Campean.

Learn more about this author, RS Coolidge.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.