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Judicial Watch: Mexican gov't harming U.S. sovereignty

The Justice Department is once again conducting a "dubious" prosecution of a U.S. Border Patrol agent who has been charged in the shooting death of an illegal immigrant, according to a public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption.

The charges were apparently filed only after the Mexican government got involved in the incident. An Arizona judge has ordered agent Nicholas Corbett to be tried on charges of second-degree murder for the January 12 death of Francisco Dominquez Rivera, who had illegally crossed the U.S. border in the Arizona desert between Douglas and Naco. Corbett claims he shot the illegal alien because the man threatened him with a rock.

Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton says this case reminds him of the highly publicized case of agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean who received stiff sentences for shooting a fleeing illegal in the El Paso area.

"These prosecutions send a message to Border Patrol agents not to aggressively enforce their nation's immigration laws," says Fitton. "[That message says] don't interact. Don't go after the drug dealers. Don't confront the Mexican military that's crossing the border. Don't do anything to upset the Mexican government."

He questions why Mexican consular officials were allowed to speak to witnesses prior to U.S. authorities, and that those witnesses just happened to be relatives of the man who was shot by the agent.

Fitton states that in this case, the fact that the Mexican government involved itself in the prosecution of a United States citizen makes the prosecution suspect and harms U.S. sovereignty.