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Administrative Hearing Leaves Door Wide Open for Ramirez Noting "a serious problem within the INS’s Miami District office," and a "hostile work environment for employees of Cuban-American and Hispanic national origin," Judge Richard Vitaris returned an important verdict in JW¹s case on behalf of former INS agent Rick Ramirez. Through his harsh criticism of the Miami INS office, Judge Vitaris left the door wide open for a federal civil rights violation lawsuit, which is scheduled for jury trial in September. During the administrative hearing, Judicial Watch uncovered some major admissions on the part of INS officials that will help support its civil rights lawsuit. For example, former Miami INS Director Robert Wallis admitted that the "proudest moment of his life" was captured in an Associated Press photograph of an INS agent holding a shotgun to the head of an unarmed protester, Mario Miranda, during the illegal INS raid of the home of Elian’s Miami relatives. Mr. Miranda is a retired Miami police officer and was responsible for safety and security around the Gonzalez home. Furthermore, INS agents testified they saw cup holders with the image of a Cuban flag with a line slashed through it, paraphernalia mocking the Miami Cuban-American community as a "Banana Republic" and a box with a cartoon picture of Elian Gonzalez that read, "Elian: kick me." "Clearly the brutal raid of Elian’s Miami relatives was not only the result of corrupt foreign policy, but of racism as well," said JW Chairman Larry Klayman. "The evidence produced in this administrative hearing will prove invaluable as we move forward with this case." Judicial Watch presented its arguments before the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, the panel that arbitrates the complaints of federal employees against federal agencies. |
