EX-AGENTS RELEASED FROM FEDERAL PRISON

EL PASO --Former U.S. Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose
Compean left federal prison on Tuesday and flew back home to El Paso
to spend an additional four weeks under home confinement.

The men were sentenced to more than a decade in prison for their roles
in the shooting of a drug smuggler near the Rio Grande, but President
George W. Bush commuted their sentences just hours before he left
office in January.

Ramos arrived about 1 p.m. from Phoenix, while Compean flew in from
Houston about 3:30 p.m. Both men traveled with their wives.

They were greeted by family members and supporters carrying signs
welcoming them home after spending two years in prison.

"I know we're finally home together, but it still feels like it's a
dream," Patricia Compean said as she unabashedly shed tears. "I've
always told everyone that helped me through this ordeal that the next
time I cried, I would cry tears of joy."

Monica Ramos, Ignacio Ramos' wife, said that the homecoming greetings
from dozens of family members and supporters were appreciated, but
that she and her husband want to move on.

"We just want to go home and begin our new bond," she
said.

Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos can't make public comments until their
home confinement is over, their lawyers said, but on Tuesday they were
able to talk with and hug their children and wives for the first time
in nearly two years.

Ignacio Ramos never let go of his two oldest sons as he walked from
the airport to the parking lot.

At one point, when one of the boys lagged behind, he immediately
stopped and turned around to re-embrace his son.

Jose Compean, too, reached out to his children as soon as he arrived
at the airport waiting area.

"Come here, baby," he said as hugged his oldest daughter, Annabelle,
14.

Both scenes were much different from their trial and sentencing three
years ago after it was learned that they shot admitted drug smuggler
Osvaldo Alderete Davila in 2005 and failed to report it to their
superiors. Evidence also showed that Jose Compean picked up shell
casings after the shooting.

The agents' case attracted national attention, especially from
politicians and advocates of stricter border protection.

And while federal authorities -- including the Border Patrol --
contended that their rules and regulations were not followed properly,
dozens of conservative groups and organizations supported the former
agents.

"We're very pleased to see them come home to see their wives and
children. They deserve it," said Richard Pierce, the executive vice
president of the National Border Patrol Council, who traveled to El
Paso to welcome the former agents. "The Border Patrol didn't seem to
be on the right side of this issue, but we won't rest until we clear
the names of both of these fine men."

Lawyers for Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos said they are working on
legal procedures to overturn the sentences. Compean was sentenced to
12 years, and Ramos 11 years in prison.

While Bush's commutation freed both men, their criminal record was not
wiped clean. Given the convictions, neither man can return to work at
the Border Patrol.

U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, said he was happy with the
sentence commutation and wished both men well.

"This is great news for both Ramos and Compean, and obviously for
their families. I'm happy for them," he said. "Had I had my druthers,
they should have been commuted with Scooter Libby. Certainly, if he
deserved it, they deserved it."

And while neither Patricia Compean nor Monica Ramos could say how
their families would spend their first day back together, they said
they were just happy to put the ordeal behind them.

"I'm still stunned at him being locked up ... I don't know how he did
it," said Joe Loya, Ignacio Ramos' father-in-law.