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Alonso Castillo / Reuters
Friends of Ramses Barron hug outside his home while mourning his death in Nogales Jan. 6. A U.S. Border Patrol agent was involved in a shooting on the Arizona border with Mexico on Wednesday that resulted in the death of 17-year-old Barron who was trying to illegally scale the border fence, Mexican police said.
Alonso Castillo / Reuters
A woman with a dog walks near the border fence between Mexico and the United States in Nogales Jan. 6. A U.S. Border Patrol agent was involved in a shooting on the Arizona border with Mexico on Wednesday that resulted in the death of a 17-year-old boy, Ramses Barron, who was trying to illegally scale the border fence, Mexican police said.
Alonso Castillo / Reuters
A man holds a jacket belonging to Ramses Barron as a local journalist films it on a street in Nogales, Jan. 6.
Alonso Castillo / Reuters
A U.S border patrol vehicle is seen from Nogales, Mexico, as it is parked near the border fence between the U.S. and Mexico, in the sister city of the same name in Arizona Jan. 6. A U.S. Border Patrol agent was involved in a shooting on the Arizona border with Mexico on Wednesday that resulted in the death of a 17-year-old boy, Ramses Barron, who was trying to illegally scale the border fence, Mexican police said. The graffiti on the wall reads the name of the street The graffiti on the wall reads the name of the street "Street of the King" where Barron was shot.
The AP reports:
NOGALES, Ariz. — Mexico's ambassador to the United States says it appears a teenager who threw rocks at Border Patrol agents in the Arizona city of Nogales died from a gunshot wound.
The death of 17-year-old Ramses Barron Torres has been in dispute since a Mexican official said the teen died Wednesday after he fell from a border fence and hit his head on a rock.
But state police in Sonora, across the border from Arizona, said companions of the Barron Torres claim he was shot by a U.S. Border Patrol agent after the youths had illegally crossed the border.
Leave a Comment:
It's a shame that a life has been lost at the border, but, its our right to protect our borders and those who disregard our laws and our rights should be aware of the risks and consequences.
I fail to see the problem here.
I guess you think we should just let anyone and everyone into the country.
That needs to be the new rule, if you climb the fence you get shot dead, to kill, we dont need them sitting in our hospitals for free too, they need to stay in Mexico where they belong. Good job officer.
Solution Simple: Don't try to invade another country!
good work border patrol! kill them fools tryin to snake there way in here
Would you dare to come in Mexico and sustain your words???....to start, give your full name , apparentlty that should not be a problem for you ( seeing that you have such great courage )....wait on your answer and welcome to Mexico anytime.
We are also open for human values talk.
Joseos, just ignore the peole who have posted those insensitive comments. My guess is that for the most part they have no idea what they're talking about; they haven't really seriously studied or tried to understand about the situation. They're just parroting things they have heard others say, and climbing on the "shoot 'em up" bandwagon. I don't read any indication in their posts that these folks have studied the problem seriously or caringly, or that they have any understanding whatsoever about the situation.
Joseos, It is ashome that this teenage got shot but this is not the border patrols fault... It is the teenagers. If I were to try and cross over into Mexico, the Mexican President himself said.. Much worse would happen to me and so I do not. I do it LEGALLY because I respect your countries rules and you. It is your country and I expect that you would kick my behind and much worse if I were to come and take something of your in Mexico.
So if you look at it from the US perspective, the illegal actions of the teenage is tragic and hopefully would not be attempted again by anyone else.
Well criminals often get shot during the commission of a crime. Lets not forget entering the US ILLEGALLY is a crime. kudos to the border patrol
how can one even say that what that border patrol officer did was good. the young man killed was a human being who was a son, maybe a uncle or a father. shame on any one praising such a thing. that border patrol officer could have shoot him in the leg or his foot, but not kill him. i am just a christian person who believes that no should die for crossing over. tell mexico to pay their people better so that they don't have to cross over to america to get a better life.
The US rules just don't go out the window because he is someones son. I would hate to loose my son but if he did something stupid that cost him his life, I would morn for him but I would have made sure that I gave him a good respect for authority and rules. My son does not rob banks, steal cars or do drugs because I explain the consequence should he do an illegal act.
As a Christian, you know that we must obey the authorities and the laws "Romans 13:1-7"
So, to blame the patrol office for the actions of someone else is misguided as to who is to blame. Bad decision on the teenages part.
I know that he will be missed.
Uncle or Father? HA! So you assume that all Mexicans father a child so young. You say you're Christian but that was such a typical thing to say. I'm not disagreeing with you, but thought that was funny. Don't bring religion into this...He shouldn't have tried to snake his way into our country and start a family in one of our cities...living with 6 people in a 1-bedroom apartment, taking all my hard earned tax dollars, using the system working part time and taking our welfare and low income privileges. The children see and learn from this and the cycle never ends. It is an exception if they get out of this cycle their selfish parents put them in. If they want a better life and a new oppurtunity...then make the money, show the US they want to change, then have the children... So the is one less of a family that he almost started in the US.
And the problem is?
We all know why the fence is there. Maybe climbing it to gain entry illegally is a very bad idea, especially since there was no hope of not getting caught, with guards right there. Darwin Award candidate, maybe?
Earlier reports also indicated that the climber & his friends were throwing (rocks?) at the fence & the guards. Sorry the kid died, but sometimes really stupid crimes - yes, he was committing a crime - have unfortunate consequences.
What a terribly sad situation with the young boy losing his life just trying to find a better one. Clearly the immigration system we have currently is broken and outdated. Here's what the United Methodist Church says on their web site on this topic:
I don't know how to solve the immigration problem, and clearly, no one else does at this time, either. I do know, however, that shooting and killing people is not the answer. Like it or not, these people are human beings, and deserve our respect and love (you remember . . . love your neighbor as yourself).
Having had the privilege of living in Mexico for three years, I learned what a beautiful, kind, caring people they are (drug cartels excepted). They are very hard workers, and they love other people. So yes, I particularly want us to see these people attempting to cross the border illegally not just as criminals, but also as HUMAN BEINGS who are looking for a better way of life. I don't think the borders should be open, but I do think we need to look at these border crossers as PEOPLE--just like you and me.
Clearly you do not understand how to solve the problem but we do have the system in place to come to America legally. The break down is in the fact that they fell they should not have to wait in line like EVERYONE else. I have friends from Kenya that migrated to America legally. It took them 10 years but they made it legally and because US citizens... LEGALLY. They all just need to follow the process.
It is tragic that this teenage lost his life but the teenager is the one that made the bad decision, not the boarder patrolmans. We have laws just like Mexico and so ask someone in Mexico what would happen to an illegal immigrant crossing thier southern border.
Thank you for your thoughtful comments. I think it's great that your Kenyan friends made it to the US. I too have many friends from other countries who have entered the US legally, and I am proud of them, much like you are of your friends.
You are right, I do not understand how to solve this problem (as I freely admitted in my post above). However, it is readily apparent that no one else does, either!
You are right that the teenager made a bad decision. I question whether or not he needed to lose his LIFE for it. I don't think we need to turn to deadly force to solve the problems of immigration. Shall we become as bad as the drug cartel people? I'd like to think that we could find better solutions. In neither my initial post nor in this one have I specifically attacked the actions of this particular border patrolman. Rather, I'm suggesting some different approaches. What about non-deadly force? What about different options, like arresting him when he got over the wall? I know there must be hundreds of alternatives to deadly force.
Whatever happened to the Golden Rule? Or even, "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Matt 19:19) In your response to Luca's Girl's post, you say that you have God in your life. That doesn't, of course, mean that you are a Christian. As a human being, I feel that the these scriptures FAR overrule what you quoted in Romans. Look at what JESUS said, not what Paul wrote about as his interpretation.
well i think theres aleson here. time for illeagles to leaqrn they dont have a right to just efin climb the fence. and time for the us to stop allowing illeagls to remain.the mexican people cry foul aqt this but face it if an american breaks law in mexico they face long time in lousy mexican jails. my morrow if the mexicans dont like it stay in there own damn country
Well Linda, You have obviously never worked in Law enforcement. You are taught to shoot at the Torso, the largest target. Trying to hit a moving target - Head, Arm or leg only works on TV. I do agree with Carol. More stupid genes removed from the pool, let's hope he did not have time to pass them on.
They are humans, not targets for practice. It's a problem that needs fixed, but those of you that feel it's OK or a good thing that a 17 YEAR OLD BOY was shot well...you need GOD in your life. People like you are the reason this world is so full of hate and ugliness. I bet that if one of your 17 year old family members happen to make a bad choice and is killed because of it, you will be a bit more compassionate...again, you need GOD in your life!
GOD is in my life and he states that I MUST obey the laws of the land "Romans 13:1-7". You might want to read it! All life lost is tragic but when we do not follow Gods teachings, there are consequences for our actions.
There is no problem other then not obeying the laws.
I cannot understand why amerikans want to blame all our problems on a few illegal Mexican border crossers, It kind of reminds me of the Nazis blameing all thier problems on the Jews. Instead of shooting and killing poor people who are just trying to improve thier lifestyle, maybe we should arrest those people who hire the undocumented workers! OW NO we can not do that, they are the ones who contribute to the republican election campaigns!
Clark, we are not blaming all of our problems on the illegal immigrants. This particular issue is the teenagers fault. This isn't an American issue, it is a disrespect for American authority.
As for the Nazi stupid anology... Just plain partisin blah blah blah.
It's very rude to refer to the material in someone else's post either as stupid or partisin (I assume you meant partisan) blah blah blah.
I'm getting frustrated that your many posts just keep harping on the same thing--killing the kid was okay. Then again, you might be getting frustrated that my posts keep referring to the Golden Rule, loving one's neighber as one's self, and finding alternatives to deadly force.
Great news! Keep Shooting! Go Go Go...
FYI- MEXICO. I spent many years of my life fighting in combat for this country, and I am a dead on shot. Be happy that I am not enforcing the law. I too will kill and have for national security.
Illegal Immigration is ILLEGAL... Go away for good and take your friends. I-5 south, do not stop.
I as well see no problem. Do not cross over into the US illegally. There are legal options for coming to the US... Use them! As for being shot, the rules in Mexico are much harsher then ours when it comes to illegally entering Mexico. You don't just get deported, you get much worse and that is what the Mexican president said!
So, just because another country's rules are more harsh than ours, that gives us the right to kill them? And you know what? I don't care in the least what the Mexican President said about harsh treatment--I'm not dealing with his laws, I'm dealing with ours.
I as well see no problem. Do not cross over into the US illegally. There are legal options for coming to the US... Use them! As for being shot, the rules in Mexico are much harsher then ours when it comes to illegally entering Mexico. You don't just get deported, you get much worse and that is what the Mexican president said!
Maybe that will make them think twice before trying to enter this country illegally.
Save our sons and daughters who are already here..... how many die daily???
So this is when America became East Berlin.
NO! You couldn"t get out or into East Berlin.
I have just spent 20 minutes trying to find information on the MSNBC website regarding the 31 people who were killed in and near Acapulco this past weekend and coinciding with the shooting in AZ of Congresswoman Giffords at her meeting. Not a single word. Could it be possible that the warm-hearted people at msn are diverting our attention from Obama's inattention to the borders?