FEDERAL JUDGE TELLS ABOUT HIS BORDER STOPS

On a warm evening in July, I walked into the South Padre Island Convention
Center and joined a crowd assembled to honor Federal District Judge Filemon
Vela as he acquired senior status.

The speakers were varied, and among them were beneficiaries of some of
Vela's many non-juridical good deeds. Even though they stuck to the short
time limits, it was a long evening before the honoree finally got to the
lectern.

With a grandfatherly countenance, the orator in Vela took over as he
thanked the crowd for contributing to the scholarships his banquet will
fund. He recalled his humble roots and hard work, while crediting others
for his achieving the prestigious rank of senior judge.

Vela surprised no one by confirming he has no plans to retire. The
caseloads in border-area federal courts are growing rapidly, and his
position wouldn't likely be filled until after the presidential election.

Instead, he'll continue his long-kept tireless schedule, perhaps working
even longer hours.

Before ending his remarks, Vela offered some sage advice to the younger
attorneys about loving and respecting the law and the Constitution
unconditionally. He admonished them to avoid the tempting shortcuts and
other half-hearted efforts that can easily undermine the administration of
justice.

For a man with such power, Vela also is unusually accessible.

More than an hour after the event ended, I finally got my chance to talk
with the judge. He was speaking to every person who approached him, posing
for pictures and trading a friendly barb or two.

We spoke of the growing presence of federal law enforcement officers along
the border, made necessary by the booming trade, immigration and drug
traffic. I related how readers are telling me how innocent, law-abiding
citizens are increasingly coming into contact with federal agents as they
travel the border.

Vela recalled his own brush with the U.S. Border Patrol in 1999.

He was driving with four staff members to hold court in Laredo, when on
Highway 1017 close to Hebbronville "a rookie Border Patrol officer" pulled
him over and asked for his ID.

After showing it, the judge asked the now-embarrassed officer why he had
pulled him over.

"He said there were too many of us in an Explorer," Vela said, shaking his
head.

On Wednesday, Vela and I again spoke about the incident over the phone.

"I'm not angered, I'm not bitter, and I'm not condemning them," he said.
"You definitely have to understand that it's one of those thoroughfares
that hasa reputation for a lot of illicit traffic, a lot of drugs and
illegal immigration traffic.

"And roving patrols, immigration stops and enforcement in areas proximate
to the border are all governed differently under different laws," he continued.

"But none of these laws excludes them from the legal premise that they
can't stop people without having 'reasonable suspicion,' and in both
occasions with me, they hardly had that."

Both cases?

Yes. A few weeks ago, Vela says, he was stopped again.

On Sunday, we'll look at this legal scholar's second run-in with our
mushrooming Border Patrol force and why he is so concerned. We'll also
delve into the incredible challenges this federal agency is facing as it
enforces the law in a region where many law-abiding citizens are, in Vela's
words, "olive-skinned people, just like a lot of the people they arrest."

To leave a message for Carlos Guerra, phone (210) 250-3545 or e-mail
cguerra@express-news.net,