"Border Patrol agents are routinely fired for any sort of lie or failure to disclose everything they know under oath. Apparently, the same rules do not apply to the "top cop" in the country. Any agent would be fired for what Holder did. Why is it that rank-and-file agents are held to such high standards while those in charge are held to such low standards? Shouldn’t those in charge be setting the example? This is one more example of why the system has become a complete joke." – National Border Patrol Council, Local 2544
The House of Representatives’ Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Friday approved a bill to rename the Bisbee, Arizona, Border Patrol station after agent Brian Terry who was slain on duty in December 2010. Meanwhile, U.S. Border Patrol agents remain angry with Attorney General Eric Holder saying he should be fired for his role in Operation Fast and Furious.
The bill, H.R. 2668, was authored by Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) and is supported by as many as 68 Democratic and Republican cosponsors.
“Brian Terry gave his life in service of his country. With today’s vote, the naming of the Bisbee station in his honor is one step closer to reality. Naming this facility after Agent Terry is just one small tribute to an officer who gave the ultimate sacrifice, and to his fellow agents who face that same risk every day,” Chairman Issa said.
Agent Terry’s family issued a statement upon introduction of the bill in July, saying, “From the very start, Brian loved his job as a Border Patrol agent and loved his fellow agents. The [Border Patrol] Station named in Brian’s honor will serve as a lasting memory for all those who knew Brian.”
Terry died on December 15, 2010 after being shot on patrol 14 miles north of the U.S./Mexico border near Rio Rico, Arizona, during an armed confrontation with suspected criminals.
Agent Terry’s murder is linked to Operation Fast and Furious, a U.S. Department of Justice-led program that knowingly allowed illegally-purchased weapons to be trafficked into Mexico and into the hands of drug cartels. Chairman Issa has led the Oversight and Government Reform Committee investigation into this program.
Besides Agent Terry, it’s suspected that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agent Jaime Zapata was also killed while he was traveling from Mexico City to Monterrey, Mexico by a drug cartel member using one of the "Fast and Furious" firearms.
Prior to his service in the Border Patrol, Agent Terry served in the U.S. Marine Corps and as a police officer in Michigan.
The bill renames the facility at 2163 Naco Highway in Bisbee, and is only the second border patrol station to be named for a fallen agent. The facility in Murrieta, California, is named in honor of Agents Theodore L. Newton, Jr., and George F. Azrak, both killed on duty in 1967.
Recently, members of the U.S. Border Patrol in Arizona — through their organization National Border Patrol Council — issued a biting statement regarding Attorney General Eric Holder: "Border Patrol agents are routinely fired for any sort of lie or failure to disclose everything they know under oath. Apparently, the same rules do not apply to the "top cop" in the country. Any agent would be fired for what Holder did. Why is it that rank-and-file agents are held to such high standards while those in charge are held to such low standards? Shouldn’t those in charge be setting the example? This is one more example of why the system has become a complete joke."
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