In 2004, the use of a document titled; “Bond Schedule Approved by the Council of Judges” came to light in the challenge to the DIMS program in place in El Paso County. The document is used to set the bonds for criminal defendants in the County. The bond schedule delineates that “undocumented aliens” and “documented aliens” are to have bonds set at “4x” and “2x” of the amount set for a diverse set of criminal prosecutions. The use of this bond schedule to set bond for criminal defendants based on their immigration status raises several questions about the treatment of foreign nationals by the County of El Paso in opposition to the Constitutions of the United States and Texas, as well as International Treaties and accords to which the US government and the State of Texas are a party to.
Paper No. 4: Does The Bond Schedule Used By The El Paso District Attorney’s Office Create A Double Standard For Mexican citizens In Violation Of The US Constitution? (June 2, 2009) Position Paper
By Martin Paredes
Martín Paredes is a Mexican immigrant who built his business on the U.S.-Mexican border. As an immigrant, Martín brings the perspective of someone who sees México as a native through the experience of living abroad. As an immigrant, Martín sees America through an immigrant’s eyes. Straddling the U.S.-México border for many years, Martín understands that the imaginary line separating two countries on a map creates two cultural identities that merge creating a culture that is unique to the borderland. But as an outsider, Martín sees an El Paso devoid of the tribalism that divides El Paso but unites it at the same time, leaving many El Pasoans ignoring the underlining corruption that permeates throughout the city. Martín has lived and experienced the growth of the Mexican drug cartels throughout his life, first as a child and when building a business in a city that was once labeled the “most dangerous city in the world.” Through it all, Martín sees what many ignore about El Paso - both its uniqueness and the many fine individuals that call El Paso home, but not ignorant to the undercurrent of political intrigue and corruption that underlines the city. Since 2000, Martín has been reporting on the border politics, the corruption and the public policy of one of the most unique communities in the world by exposing the secrets few dare to. An engineer and a creator, Martín creates multimedia projects, including writing, about topics that few explore while making his living in the exciting world of internet-driven technology.