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US CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION
New policy welcomed Use-of-force rules released, but critics say more should be done By JULIAN AGUILAR THE TEXAS TRIBUNE
EL PASO — Texas-based civil liberties and immigrant rights groups are welcoming the release of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s use-of-force policy
and a new directive for U.S. Border Patrol agents as a signal of greater transparency, but those groups — along with some Texas congressmen — argue that more should be done. The advocates say that more directives should be made public
and that the agency should also address activity by CBP officers at the ports of entry, not just Border Patrol agents. On Friday, U.S. Border Patrol Chief Michael J. Fisher instructed field agents to avoid shooting at vehicles that are only fleeing
the scene and to consider all available alternatives to firing their weapons when “projectiles” are hurled at agents, including rocks, a common weapon for would-be crossers caught attempting to enter the country illegally.
“Agents shall not discharge firearms in response to thrown or hurled projectiles unless the agent has a reasonable belief based on the totality of the circumstances to include the size of
See RULES PAGE 11A
LAREDO POLICE
HISTORIC RELIC
Two facing theft charges
RARE GLIMPSE OF HISTORY Early map up for sale By JAMIE STENGLE ASSOCIATED PRESS
By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
LAREDO — Two Zapata County residents were arrested Thursday on shoplifting charges at a Walmart in South Laredo, according to police. Gabriela Ramirez, 18, and Francisco Javier Solis, 20, were charged with theft, a Class B misdemeanor punishable with SOLIS up to 180 days in jail and/or a $2,000 fine. They posted bond Friday, according to custody records. Laredo police officers responded RAMIREZ to a theft call at 7:11 p.m. Thursday at Walmart, 4401 U.S. 83 South. Loss prevention officers had allegedly recorded Ramirez, of the town of Zapata, and Solis, of San Ygnacio, stealing various items, Investigator Joe E. Baeza, police spokesman. Baeza added that the couple stole three cell phone cases, shoes and a Clearblue pregnancy test, among other items. The stolen merchandise totaled $180, according to police. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
Photo by Heritage Auctions | AP
Shown is an 1849 first edition map of Texas, considered the first official map after Texas became a state in 1845. It is expected to sell for more than $150,000 when it goes up for auction today in Dallas by Heritage Auctions.
DALLAS — A rare 165year-old map of Texas that has been in the same family for generations is expected to sell for more than $150,000 at an auction today. The 1849 document, considered the first official map of Texas after it became a state in 1845, will be offered in Dallas by Heritage Auctions. “This is important because it shows Texas at that fledging point where it’s just becoming a new member of a fairly young nation,” said Joe Fay, Heritage’s manager of rare books. The map was one of several historical family items 66-year-old Patrick Martin, a retired architect, brought to an appraisal event Heritage held last spring in Birmingham, Ala., near his home. He had no idea of its value, but realized he had something special when he saw Fay’s face light up. “When the eyes fell on the signature, it was a ‘eureka’ moment,” Fay said. “It was that: ‘Wait a minute. This is brown ink. This would be black in any subsequent revision.’ So what we have here is the real thing.” Fay said the map, a lithograph, was hand-signed by
See OLD MAP PAGE 11A
U.S. BORDER PATROL
Embassy: Woman are from Honduras By JUAN CARLOS LLORCA ASSOCIATED PRESS
EL PASO — Three people kidnapped and assaulted in South Texas by a Border Patrol agent are a mother, her underage daughter and another girl not related to them who had all come from Honduras, a diplomatic official said Friday. Karol Escalante, a spokeswoman for the Honduran embassy in Washington, D.C., also said the three are recovering at a hospital in McAllen. She would not elaborate on their injuries. The FBI believes Border
Patrol agent Esteban Manzanares, who was later found dead in his home, is responsible for kidnapping and assaulting the three. Customs and Border Protection, the federal agency of which the Border Patrol is part, has said that during the course of their regular operations Wednesday night agents encountered a woman who said she had been attacked by a man. They started a search that led them to a second female. A search and recovery operation was organized with other law enforcement agencies, which took authorities early Thurs-
The agent was on duty when he encountered the females and that his shift had ended by the time authorities showed up. day to Manzanares’ home in Mission, a suburb of McAllen, which is close to the Texas-Mexico border about 350 miles from Houston. When local police approached the agent’s apartment, they heard gunshots. When authorities entered the home they found him dead and
rescued the third girl. The FBI has said the three were in the country illegally. The FBI said it is awaiting an autopsy report on Manzanares, who the Border Patrol said had been with the agency since 2008. A CBP official told The Associated Press that the
agent was on duty when he encountered the females and that his shift had ended by the time authorities showed up at his house and he shot himself. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because it is an ongoing investigation by the FBI. The number of apprehensions by the Border Patrol —a figure commonly used to gauge the ebb and flow of illegal border crossers — rose by 16 percent last year to 420,789 undocumented immigrants detained. More than half of those arrests were made in Texas. Border Patrol Chief Mi-
chael Fisher said last October that much of the increase was due to a rise in the number of people from Central American trying to enter the U.S. in South Texas. While apprehensions of Mexican nationals remained fairly steady, arrests of immigrants from other countries, including Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, rose 55 percent. Limited economic opportunities and widespread gang and drug cartel violence in Central America have driven tens of thousands north along a dangerous route through Mexico.