Annunciation House Newsletter - Winter 2003

The death of Juan Patricio: The People Ask "Why?"

By Ruben Garcia

It is difficult to imagine what might have been going through the mind of 19 year-old Juan Patricio as he attempted to flee Border Patrol agents.

One can only speculate what thoughts must have raced through his head as he found himself in the middle of San Antonio Street surrounded by a semi-circle of 6 to 8 agents with guns drawn and pointed at him.

Whatever may have been going through his mind, certainly it was not that in a few short moments people would begin to write his obituary and debate the justification of ending this young life before it really ever had a chance to flourish. For in a few short moments, Juan Patricio would lie on the street, bleeding to death from two gun-shot wounds fired by one of the Border Patrol agents.

February 22 was a Saturday. The day started off with all the makings of one of those lazy, bright sunny days that sometimes visits this border community during winter. Not a cloud in sight, the deep blue hue of the sky allowed one to feel as if you could see everyone and everything. But in fact, for those living in the small houses and tenement apartments that run along San Antonio St., the clarity of the day did not eliminate the surreal disbelieve of what their eyes were seeing. The mantra of witnesses quoted in newspaper and television interviews was expressed in the question, "Why did they have to kill him?"

Juan Patricio Peraza Quijada was born and raised in Mexicali, Mexico. The son of a street taco vendor, Juan Patricio, along with a friend he had recently met, made the decision to head North to the United States in search of work, in search of an opportunity he so well knew was probably not available to him in Mexicali. Like so many others who arrive with empty pockets and no place to stay, they searched for the homeless shelters, eventually making their way to Annunciation House on the 4th of February.

"He was full of life, mischievous, wore funny hats, at times acting crazy and had a little gait in his walk," described one of the staff volunteers at Annunciation House. "He was also giving of himself to others in the house. He would accompany other guests to hospital emergency rooms as they waited their turn to receive medical attention," she added. His hope was that somehow he could make his way to the San Francisco area where he had family and could look for work.

But it was not to be.

On the morning of February 22nd, Juan Patricio went out the front door to empty a trash can in the dumpster across the parking lot that hugs the building that is Annunciation House. He saw a couple of other House guests talkingin the parking as he walked to the dumpster. After throwing the trash and returning the empty can inside the House, he went back out the front door to join the other guests talking in the parking lot. As he walked on the parking lots, an unmarked Border Patrol car drove up onto the middle of the parking lot. Two fully uniformed Border Patrol agents got out. One of the agents called out to Juan Patricio, the other headed toward the other guests in the parking lot. Having interrogated Juan Patricio, the agent asked him to place his hands on the back of the unmarked Border Patrol car, feet apart and proceeded to search Juan Patricio.

As this was happening, one of the staff volunteers walked onto the parking lot and asked the agent with Juan Patricio what was going on. When the agent took a few steps toward the staff volunteer to speak with her, Juan Patricio took off running. The agent interrogating Juan Patricio took off in foot pursuit while the other agent got into the car, radioed for back-up and joined the pursuit.

Juan Patricio jumped into and out of backyards and at one point the agent on foot caught up with him. According to one witness, the agent wrestled briefly with Juan Patricio but was unable to take him into custody. As the pursuit continued and Juan Patricio sought to get away, the agent said Juan Patricio came across a ladder in one of the backyards and heaved it at him. Juan Patricio then picked up a four to six foot pipe and ran out onto San Antonio St.

The Border Patrol radio call for back-up was quickly answered by numerous marked Border Patrol vehicles who raced down San Antonio St., coming to a stop at the point where Juan Patricio was. With their vehicles blocking the street to the West of where Juan Patricio stood, the Border Patrol agents got out of their vehicles and formed what witnesses variously described as a semi-circle facing Juan Patricio.

Witnesses said that Juan Patricio had the pipe he had picked up resting on his shoulder but that he was not swinging or threatening anyone with it. They said a shouting matched ensued with the agents calling on Juan Patricio toput down the pipe and Juan Patricio telling them that he did not want to be deported. There stood six to eight agents, with guns drawn and pointed at Juan Patricio as he backed away from them. Two shots rang out. Witnesses said the shots were fired by the last agent to arrive on the scene.

The impact of the bullets spun Juan Patricio around, falling face down on the street and there dying. At that moment, like an ever increasing number of immigrants, Juan Patricio entered the statistical count of those who die or are killed in the process of entering the United States.

Immediately following the shooting, law enforcement agencies initiated investigations. Primary among them was that of the El Paso Police Department (EPPD). As part of the canvassing of the neighborhood for witnesses and at the request of the EPPD, 8 guests staying at Annunciation House were voluntarily transported to the main headquarters of the EPPD to have their eye-witness statements taken. EPPD officers gave categorical assurances to the 8 guests that EPPD would transport them to police headquarters and then back to Annunciation House.

But at the EPPD, Border Patrol agents interfered with the witnesses wanting EPPD to turn the witnesses over to them so that they could be transported to a small detention facility located next to the El Paso Del Norte International Bridge - one of El Paso's border ports of entry - and there determine the legal status of the witnesses for purposes of deporting them. Upon receiving several calls, including one from one of the witnesses, with information as to what was happening, Annunciation House contacted Lynn Coyle, an attorney with the Lawyers Committee on Civil Rights, Michael Wyatt, an attorney with Texas Rural Legal Aid and Ouisa Davis, an attorney with Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services to request their assistance in providing legal representation to the 8 witnesses.

But upon arriving at the EPPD headquarters, police denied Lynn Coyle and Michael Wyatt access to the witnesses, one of whom had already been removed by Border Patrol and transported to one of their detention facilities. It took a telephone call from Wyatt to the Mayor of El Paso who in turn called the EPPD Chief of Police who in turn called his headquarters for Coyle and Wyatt to gain access to the remaining witnesses. Later that afternoon, Ouisa Davis succeeded in gaining the release of the witness taken into custody by Border Patrol. In an effort to protect the witnesses from any further interference by Border Patrol, the district attorney's office issued grand jury subpoenas to the witnesses that very afternoon.

It is the policy of District Attorney Jaime Esparza to have all shootings in El Paso involving a law enforcement agent investigated by a grand jury. The grand jury heard from 30 plus witnesses. Late in the day on Friday, June 6th, - after a two-month extension of the grand jury's term - the district attorney's office announced that the grand jury had not returned an indictment of the Border Patrol agent who had shot and killed Juan Patricio. Since grand jury deliberations are secret, details of the investigation were not disclosed.

Perhaps some of these details will be forthcoming if Juan Patricio's parents decide to file a wrongful death lawsuit and it actually goes to trial instead of being settled out of court. In the meantime, questions will remain onthe minds of many. Questions not only about the specific details revolving around the shooting death of Juan Patricio, but also about border policies and practices that take the lives of more and more immigrants each year.

Juan Patricio's death is not simply about an incident that involves an immigrant and a Border Patrol agent. It is about the creation of an environment and a mentality that increasingly views border enforcement as an "us verses them" undertaking. It is a mentality that is slowly converting undocumented immigrants into an "enemy" that must increasingly be met with violence and militarization of the border.

Two weeks after the shooting, a memorial Mass was celebrated by the bishops of the Catholic Dioceses of Las Cruces and El Paso near the spot where Juan Patricio was killed. In his homily, Father Rick Matty, rector of St. Patrick's Cathedral, responded to the increasing violence and militarization on the border challenging those present when he said, "Let us redirect our ways. There are more ways for the many fears we have and we need to direct our ways to those who are undocumented among us. To them we say, 'In any church, there you have your home; in any Catholic home, there is your home; in our hearts, there is your home.' This is our commitment to the dream and life of Juan Patricio."

Yes indeed, it is difficult to imagine what might have been going through the mind of Juan Patricio as he attempted to flee Border Patrol agents and one can only speculate what thoughts must have raced through his head as he found himself in the middle of San Antonio Street surrounded by a semi-circle of 6 to 8 agents with guns drawn and pointed at him. But perhaps much more important than what might have been going through Juan Patricio's mind is what now goes through our minds.