Border securityCBP agent acquitted in abuse case

Published 22 April 2013

Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agent Luis Fonseca was acquitted of one count of deprivation of rights last Friday. The CBP has recently been under  scrutiny for its rules on the use of force and the acquittal is considered a victory for the agency.

CBP agents during bus-boarding drill // Source: ice.gov

Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agent Luis Fonseca was acquitted of one count of deprivation of rights last Friday. The CBP has recently been under scrutiny for its rules on the use of force and the acquittal is considered a victory for the agency.

Fox News Latino reports that Fonseca was accused of choking a migrant It took less than eight hours for jurors to reach a verdict. Federal prosecutors used a surveillance video which showed Adolfo Ceja collapsing during a confrontation with Fonseca at a Border Patrol station in Imperial Beach two years ago.

“The way it was portrayed, the jury was expecting much worse,” Stuart Adams, Fonseca’s attorney, said outside the courthouse.

Prosecutors said in a pretrial court filing that Fonseca kneed Ceja, in the thigh and ordered him to the ground. They said the video shows Fonseca’s hand on Ceja’s throat even as the migrant has his hands on the wall. Ceja turns limp and collapses to the floor “with seizure-like movements.”

Five days after the incident, Ceja attempted to enter the United States at a crossing in San Diego under someone else’s name. The incident was reported to an inspector, which started an investigation.

According to Adams, the jurors could have been swayed by testimony from a doctor of emergency medicine which challenged  the assertion that the migrant was knocked unconscious. Other witnesses testified that agent acted the way he was trained to act and that the migrant refused to follow the orders that were given to him.

U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy was not happy with the verdict.

“We believe it is our responsibility to stand up for the civil rights of everyone and felt this was an important case to bring. The U.S. Attorney’s office will always elect to bring such cases when we believe the evidence is sufficient to do so —  no matter how tough the case may be,” Duffy told Fox News.

The Border Patrol released a statement after the verdict, saying it will review the case “to determine whether or not any violations of regulations or policies occurred and take appropriate corrective action, if any, is required.”
Despite the verdict, the Border Patrol still has its critics.

“This sends the wrong message to Border Patrol and fuels a culture of impunity in the agency,” Andrea Guerrero, executive director of advocacy group Alliance San Diego told Fox News. “As a matter of policy and practice, it should never be acceptable to strangle someone who poses no threat, then kick him while he is down and walk away as if no harm had been done.”