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July 2, 2014

Appeals Court Allows Lawsuit over Border Agent Killing of Mexican Teen 
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A U.S. appeals court has ruled in favor of the family of a Mexican
15-year-old shot dead by a U.S. Border Patrol agent. According to the
family's complaint, Sergio Adrian Hernandez Guereca was playing with his
friends on the Mexican side of the border when an agent detained one of
the friends, causing Hernandez to retreat beneath a bridge. The agent,
Jesus Mesa, then fired across the border into Mexico, hitting Hernandez
in the face and killing him. The Obama administration argued that the
U.S. Constitution did not protect Hernandez, because the teen was
outside the United States. But in what was reportedly the first ruling
of its kind, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, allowing the
family to move forward with their lawsuit against the agent. The ruling
could impact at least some of the six other cases where U.S. agents have
killed Mexican citizens by shooting across the border.

 

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