November 19, 2007

President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C.

Dear President Bush:

As a nation, Americans are sometimes reminded of the unintended consequences of choices made by our elected leaders on the lives and well-being of people whose faith and trust were freely given in order to effectively govern. History has proven that the mere words and deeds of a president can change the course of history and profoundly affect both the tone and direction of the nation’s moral character for generations to come. We are also reminded that while a president’s words can reflect either a full measure of American generosity or the unsurpassed power of its military strength, the impact of a president’s silence can have the same dramatic and devastating results. That is why we find your continued silence on the issue of a presidential pardon for Border Patrol agents Ramos and Compean of great concern. We sincerely feel that your inaction and lack of immediacy to personally address the inhumane treatment of these two agents runs counter to the tenets of a compassionate conservative and the Christian values that many of your supporters find a sustaining beacon of your presidency.

The purpose of this letter is not to argue the legal points of the Ramos and Compean case but to raise deep concerns among conservatives regarding the larger moral implications surrounding their continued incarceration. As you deliberate, their lives are clearly at risk. The government’s response to this threat has been to place these two agents in solitary confinement for over 10 months—an inhumane treatment and gross injustice that is worse than the terrorists and enemy combatants receive at Guantanamo Bay.

Conservatives who champion the sanctity of every life, born and unborn, find it unacceptable that some disillusioned Americans are being forced to conclude that the lives of Ramos and Compean are simply what the government has deemed an acceptable level of “collateral damage” for a failed border security and national immigration policy. As Ramos and Compean sit in solitary confinement 23 out of 24 hours each day, the failure to personally intercede on their behalf sends a chilling message to other Border Patrol agents and law enforcement officers who will now question their own professional judgment, mute their response and make our borders less secure. This further erodes the public’s confidence in the Administration’s commitment to do what is necessary to secure the borders.

Another equally alarming outcome of the Ramos and Compean case has been the inherent fraying and deterioration of public confidence in the American judicial system. When an admitted illegal alien drug smuggler who repeatedly brings drugs into this country is given government immunity to testify against the very law enforcement officers hired to stop him, the American public sees the scales of justice tilting the wrong way. How can these actions be justified on moral grounds to the American people? How can they become the lessons we teach our children? They can’t.

When justice becomes so tilted, sentences so excessive, and the treatment of prisoners inhumane, then a president must act to bring the scales of justice back into balance. He must use his power to restore faith not only in our judicial system, but faith in the kindness and forgiveness of the human spirit that is a measure of this nation’s moral character. Therefore, the signers below respectfully ask you to demonstrate your compassion and willingness to forgive and immediately consider pardoning Border Patrol agents Ramos and Compean.

Respectfully,

Paul M. Weyrich Chairman and CEO Free Congress Foundation Phyllis Schlafly President and Founder Eagle Forum Louis P. Sheldon Chairman Traditional Values Coalition T.J. Bonner President National Border Patrol Council Cliff Kincaid President America's Survival, Inc. James J. Boulet, Jr. Executive Director English First Donald Irvine Chairman Accuracy In Media Ron Pearson President Council for America C. Preston Noell III President Tradition, Family, Property, Inc. Larry Helminiak Chairman Carroll County Republican Central Committee Dr. William Greene President RightMarch.com

David A. Keene Chairman American Conservative Union Frank F. Gaffney, Jr. President Center for Security Policy James P. Backlin VP for Legislative Affairs Christian Coalition of America Chris Perkins Executive Director Coalition for a Conservative Majority Peter Ferrara General Counsel American Civil Rights Union William J. Murray Chairman Religious Freedom Coalition Ron Wexler President/CEO Ten Commandments Commission Jack Wheeler President Freedom Research Foundation The Rev. Dr. Keith Roderick Coalition for the Defense of Human Rights Joyce E. Thomann President Republican Women of Anne Arundel County (MD)

Morton C. Blackwell Chairman Conservative Leadership PAC Roy Beck President NumbersUSA Jim Martin President 60 Plus Association Jay Dickey Former U.S. Congressman (AR-04) Colin A. Hanna President WeNeedAFence.com Demos Chrissos President National Voters Alliance Richard Falknor Executive VP MD Taxpayers Assoc., Inc. Chris “Kit” Bromley CEO BCII Mal Kline Executive Director Accuracy in Academia Alex-St. James Chairman AARLC