Fronteras

A federal judge has agreed to release the names of most of a dozen federal agents now defending themselves in a civil case involving a Mexican man who died while in their custody. But lawyers say this case does not mean more transparency in other border agent-involved death cases.

Lawyers in San Diego are calling it a blunder on the part of the legal team representing the agents. In May 2010, Anastasio Hernandez Rojas died while being deported back to Mexico after federal agents tased him. They said he was resisting arrest. In a civil lawsuit filed by Hernandez’s family, lawyers had agreed to keep the names of the agents hidden from the public. But then the defense team for the agents accidentally released the names in a court filing and Channel 8 in San Diego broadcast the names.

James Lyall is an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU had sued to get the names of the agents. Lyall says what happened in the Hernandez case probably won’t affect any of the ongoing cases involving federal agents accused of abuse. The Homeland Security Department usually refuses to release any of the names of its agents involved in such cases.

“Whether we’ll see a change from Border Patrol absent further litigation remains to be seen," Lyall said.

The agents named work for Customs and Border Protection, some are supervisors in the Border Patrol and two work for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. After the inadvertent release of names, the judge in the case then agreed to release the names to news outlets like KPBS who had sued to obtain them. The agents, who up until this week were only identified by badge number, are:

Jerry Vales (7663), Customs and Border Protection officer

Kurt Sauer (10-*-71), Customs and Border Protection officer

Alan Boutwell (7-*-69), Customs and Border Protection officer

Ramon DeJesus (CAQ03175), Customs and Border Protection supervisor

Edward Caliri (I-68), Supervisory Border Patrol agent

Guillermo Avila (I-199), Supervisory Border Patrol agent

Ishmael Finn (V-61), Supervisory Border Patrol agent

Derrick Llewellyn (11-*-69), Border Patrol agent

Undercover agent (V-325), Border Patrol agent

Phillip Krasielwicz (V-315), Border Patrol agent

Andre Piligrino (2054), Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent

Harinzo Narainesingh (7G2186), Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent