Patrick Leahy: “I have to take issue with the extreme rhetoric that some are using to attack our Federal law enforcement officers who…”

“I have to take issue with the extreme rhetoric that some are using to attack our Federal law enforcement officers who helped return Elian Gonzalez to his father. For example, one of the Republican leaders in the House of Representatives was quoted as calling the officers of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, the U.S. Border Patrol, and the U.S. Marshals Service: ``jack-booted thugs.'' The mayor of New York City, a man who is seeking election to this body, called these dedicated public servants ``storm troopers.'' I know both men who made these remarks. I hope they will reconsider what they said because such intemperate and highly charged rhetoric only serves to degrade Federal law enforcement officers in the eyes of the public. That is something none of us should want to see happen. Let none of us in the Congress, or those who want to serve in Congress, contribute to an atmosphere of disrespect for law enforcement officers. No matter what one's opinion of the law enforcement action in south Florida, we should all agree that these law enforcement officers were following orders, doing what they were trained to do, and putting their lives on the line, something they do day after day after day. Let us treat law enforcement officers with the respect that is essential to their preserving the peace and protecting the public.”