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Posted on Sun, Apr. 07, 2002
Border town clash sparks rights debate
By KAREN BROOKS
STAR-TELEGRAM BORDER BUREAUEL CENIZO - A clash between a teen-ager and a U.S. Border Patrol agent has escalated into a battle of civil rights in this scrappy border town, the only city in the United States with Spanish as its official language.
The confrontation between Tim Barton, 18, and Border Patrol agent Roger Muscate started when Barton accused Muscate of hitting him with his patrol unit, and Muscate said Barton threatened him and threw rocks at his truck.
The incident highlights years of bad blood between the former colonia and the federal agency in charge of stemming illegal immigration on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Whether Barton, the son of El Cenizo Mayor Flora Barton, is a criminal or a victim depends on who is telling the story. Either way, he has become a lightning rod in his hometown 15 miles outside Laredo.
Attorneys from Laredo and San Antonio are fighting for the dismissal of federal charges that could land him in jail for up to six years. Activists are raising money for the teen's defense. They claim agents overstepped their bounds and are now using the FBI to cover up civil rights abuses. And researchers in San Antonio and Austin are analyzing complaints and allegations collected from El Cenizo residents last year about abuses by Border Patrol agents.
TMS