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New Orleans Federal Appeals Court Rules In Favor Of Border Patrol Agent Involved In Fatal Shooting

A federal appeals court in New Orleans has ruled the family of a teenager shot and killed in Mexico by a Border Patrol agent who fired across the Texas line cannot sue in a US court. The Justice Department had ruled the agent did not break any laws.

The Mexican government supported the family’s decision to sue agent Jesus Mesa in US courts. They argued that the agent acted in US jurisdiction.

There is no dispute that Mesa shot 15-year-old Sergio Hernandez in 2010. He was trying to arrest two people suspected of crossing illegally into the United States near El Paso when he was pelted by rocks. He fired his weapon across the Rio Grande and killed the teenager.  

The full 5th U-S Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that the agent has immunity. The boy’s family has not decided if it will appeal the case to the US Supreme Court.

Eileen is a news reporter and producer for WWNO. She researches, reports and produces the local daily news items. Eileen relocated to New Orleans in 2008 after working as a writer and producer with the Associated Press in Washington, D.C. for seven years.

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