Military on the Border

The Military Should Not Be Used to

Patrol the U.S.-Mexico Border

On May 20, 1997, Ezequiel Hernandez, an 18 year-old high school student from the town of Redford in West Texas, was shot to death by a unit of four Marines. Esequiel was a U.S. Citizen. These soldiers were members of Joint Task Force 6, a military force established for anti-drug activites along the U.S.-Mexico border, and were operating under the authorization of the U.S. Border Patrol. The Texas Rangers, a state police force investigating the shooting, say they have found inconsistencies in the Marines' account of the incident, which they will present to a grand jury investigating the case.

Opposition to Military on Border Grows

From presidential advisers to those living in small town Texas, sentiments seem to be swaying against deploying soldiers on U.S. soil for anti-drug surveillance. "We do not believe in militarizing the border," said Brian Morton, spokesman for the Office of National Drug Control Policy, which coordinates President Clinton's anti-drug efforts. "We believe that Border Patrol agents and civilian law enforcement are the best way to patrol that area." Numerous federal and state agencies have been reviewing the military's role on the border since May 20, when a Marine assigned to the military's Joint Task Force Six shot and killed 18-year-old Ezequiel Hernandez while on patrol in Redford, Texas. The Border Patrol's El Paso sector announced last week it had suspended some JTF-Six operations in West Texas and New Mexico until the shooting can be investigated.

(El Paso Times; Laura Smitherman; July 13, 1997)

Military's Role on the Border Suspended in El Paso

The El Paso Border Patrol sector has suspended some joint operations with the military in the wake of the shooting death of an 18 year-old boy by a Marine in Redford, Texas, Chief William Veal said Thursday.....Veal said he was concerned Joint Task Force Six soldiers, who use anti-drug missions with the Border Patrol as training exercises, are not in the right frame of mind for work in the field.....Veal said his staff decided not to invite any more JTF-Six posts to the area two weeks ago, pending thorough scrutiny of policies and procedures at the local and national offices. The Pentagon also has initiated a broad review of the task force.....The Border Patrol suspended JTF-Six operations in its Marfa sector immediately after the Redford shooting. And in the McAllen sector, the Border Patrol hasnít been working with the task force since January, when an Army soldier shot a Mexican national in self-defense, spokeswoman Letty Valadez said.....But the military has been allowed to continue missions in most other Border Patrol sectors. Of the five sectors in Texas, Del Rio and Laredo have not made any policy choices but donít have any missions scheduled.....ìUnless we get orders from somebody higher up, weíll be operating as usual for now,î said Assistant Chief Oscar Garza of the Laredo sector, where two reconnaissance missions-one by air and one on the ground-recently were completed.....Veal said soldiers, who are allowed to carry firearms for protection, may be unable to recognize ìperipheralî issues - such as a threat to innocent bystanders- that law enforcement is trained to watch for. He called the problem ìexcessive mission orientation.î.....The Texas Rangers and Presidio County district attorneyís office are reviewing the shooting. Officials with the two agencies have said some of the physical evidence in the case doesnít coincide with the militaryís version of the shooting.

(El Paso Times; Laura Smitherman; July 11, 1997)