A dehumanizing system.

AuthorRandolph, John A.
PositionLETTERS - Letter to the editor

Thank you to John Carlos Frey for bringing attention to the alarming border shootings in "Over the Line" (May/ June 2013).

As a retired agent for the U.S. Border Patrol, Immigration and Naturalization Service, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, my work experience has shaped my perception of border issues. I was always disillusioned about our country's approach to illegal immigration, but my disillusion increased tenfold after I personally witnessed both the death of a young undocumented kid and the murder of one of my fellow agents.

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Ultimately the responsibility for the tragic border shootings Frey writes about lies with the agents who broke the rules, but it must also be taken into consideration that they are operating within a system that dehumanizes both them and the undocumented. While most agents know that the vast majority of the people they catch are honest, hardworking, and trying to make better lives for themselves and their...

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