The Supreme Court ruled in a sharply divided 5-4 decision Tuesday that the family of a 15-year-old Mexican teen killed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent a decade ago cannot sue the officer in federal court without the approval of the U.S. Congress. In 2010, the teenager, Sergio Adrián Hernández Güereca, was shot across the El Paso-Juárez border by U.S. Border Patrol agent Jesus Mesa Jr. It’s the latest example of impunity for U.S. Border Patrol officers who commit homicide across the Mexican border. In 2018, a federal jury in Tucson, Arizona, found Border Patrol agent Lonnie Swartz not guilty of manslaughter for shooting and killing 16-year-old José Rodríguez through the U.S.-Mexico border fence in 2012. Click here to see Democracy Now!'s coverage of Rodríguez's case and our interview with his family in Nogales, Mexico.
Supreme Court Rules Border Patrol Agents Who Shoot into Mexico Can’t Be Sued
HeadlineFeb 26, 2020