Civil rights lawyers have filed a motion to prevent the government from keeping the name of a Border Patrol agent accused of shooting a 16-year-old Sonora teen a secret.
"This is an extraordinary request by the government and just one more example of how the Border Patrol attempts to shield its unlawful actions from the public. The rule of law demands transparency—that’s all we’re asking for," said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU’s national Immigrants’ Rights Project in a news release.
Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez was shot multiple times in the back on Oct. 10, 2012. His body was found about 40 feet from the border fence near the downtown port of entry in Nogales.
The Border Patrol says agents were responding to rock throwers in the area when they fired, but a witness said the teen was just walking.
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As part of a civil suit against the agent by Araceli Rodriguez — Elena Rodriguez’s mother — the court allowed third-party depositions of government officials who knew the identity of the Border Patrol agent, court documents show.
In response to the court’s order, Customs and Border Protection agreed to provide the name of the agent and the private attorney representing him but only if Araceli Rodriguez agreed to file the amended complaint under seal pending a final court ruling on whether or not the name should be hidden from the public.
Because the amended complaint needs to be filed within two years from when the incident happened, which is coming up this October, Araceli Rodriguez agreed to the government’s demand but opposes the sealing of the amended complaint.
“The public interest in knowing the identity of a federal agent sued for the use of deadly force during his official duties is paramount,” attorneys wrote.
Araceli Rodriguez asked the court to require the government to show cause why the agent’s name should remain under seal.
Generally, the identity of Border Patrol agents involved in deadly force incidents has been kept secret.
Guadalupe Guerrero, the mother of Carlos LaMadrid who was shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent in Cochise County in 2011, also had to file a civil suit to learn the name of the agent who fired the deadly shots. The case is still ongoing.
