US/Mexico Border at Douglas, Arizona (March 31, 2011) – Carlos La Madrid was known as the teenager who always smiled, who loved to play soccer, guitar and was learning to work with solar energy. This week however, his family has been mourning his death. On March 21st Carlos La Madrid was shot and killed by Border Patrol agents near the border wall separating Douglas, Arizona from Agua Prieta, Sonora.  He was 19 years old.

This is the second incident to shock the Arizona border region so far this year in which teenagers have been shot and killed by border guards in alleged rock-versus-bullets incidents.  In January, 17-year-old Ramses Barrón Torres was shot and killed in Douglas, Arizona. That case is still under investigation.

Family and friends of Carlos La Madrid gathered near the site of the shooting to demand justice as they hung two banners on the border wall, one depicting a smiling Carlos playing the accordion, the second commissioned by Carlos’ soccer team that read “You will always be in our team and in our hearts.”

Holding back tears outside the family home, Marta, Carlos’ younger sister, remembered her slain sibling: “He was a great brother, he was always smiling and loved to play soccer,” she told organizers with Border Action Network.

Although federal authorities have not released any information on the incident, the Border Patrol claims its agents were confronted by rock throwers who were standing on the Mexican side.

“Rock throwing is often the pretext to justify shooting and killing migrants crossing the US-Mexico border. In this case, Carlos was a 19-year- old U.S. citizen and hometown boy of Douglas, Arizona,” explained Jennifer Allen, Executive Director of Border Action Network and co-chair of the Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC), a recently formed border-wide coalition of over 60 entities.  Allen continued, “The Border Patrol agents took the law into their own hands and acted as judge, jury and executioner and shot a teenager.”

This latest incident has also had a chilling effect on communities along the international divide with Mexico.

“Border communities from San Diego to Brownsville are saying enough is enough,” explained Christian Ramirez, a San Diego-based National Coordinator with the American Friends Service Committee and SBCC co-chair. “The growing pattern of agents shooting first and asking questions later is a border-wide epidemic that is rapidly diminishing the quality of life of border communities and trampling on the dignity of the millions of people who call the US-Mexico border home.”

The SBCC and its Arizona members expect:

1. For the FBI and the Cochise County Attorney’s office to conduct thorough and swift investigations that include investigating civil rights violations.
2. For Customs and Border Protection to institute new training for agents to better assess levels of threat and determine appropriate non-lethal responses; and
3. For all agencies involved to provide copies of incident reports to the family, including one that explains the delayed paramedics’ transport to the local hospital.

Press Contacts:

Arizona Hilary Tone (Border Action Network) 480.269.5523 hilary@borderaction.org	California Ricardo Favela (SDIRC) 760.468.4519 communicate@immigrantsandiego.org
Texas (Rio Grande Valley) Neha Singhal (La Union del Pueblo Entero) 956.787.2233 neha@lupenet.org	New Mexico Vicki Gaubeca (ACLU of New Mexico) 575.527.0664 vgaubeca@aclu-nm.org

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Photos of Carlos and his family as well as video of family members are also available at borderaction.org

The Southern Border Communities Coalition officially formed this year with over 60 signatories based along the southern border region from California to Texas.  Their four main goals are to 1. Work to ensure that border enforcement policies and practices are accountable and fair, respect human dignity and human rights, and prevent the loss of life in the region. 2. Promote policies and solutions that improve the quality of life in border communities. 3. Advance a positive image of the border region. 4. Support rational and humane immigration reform policies affecting the border region. For more information contact any of the above listed contact persons.