1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,000 Speaker 1: Hey, their dear listener, A quick warning. This story has 2 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:09,039 Speaker 1: some graphic references to violence and murder. Over the last 3 00:00:09,039 --> 00:00:12,400 Speaker 1: few years, there have been several reports of law enforcement 4 00:00:12,520 --> 00:00:16,480 Speaker 1: agents on the US Mexico border going rogue. 5 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:20,120 Speaker 2: Border patrol agent Joel Luna has been dealt a twenty 6 00:00:20,200 --> 00:00:23,680 Speaker 2: year prison sentence for organized criminal activity in a case 7 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:27,120 Speaker 2: involving the decapitation of a would be snake. Jan has 8 00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:30,960 Speaker 2: had pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute. 9 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:33,879 Speaker 3: Marijuana for receiving a bribe importation of his customs. 10 00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:38,360 Speaker 1: And Border protection agents have traffic drugs, taken bribes, and 11 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:43,120 Speaker 1: allegedly raped migrants. In one dramatic case, an agent turned 12 00:00:43,159 --> 00:00:45,479 Speaker 1: out to be a serial killer, Jan. 13 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:48,280 Speaker 4: David Ortiz confessted killing four women in a two week 14 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:50,800 Speaker 4: time span in the Laredo, Texas area near the US 15 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:51,680 Speaker 4: Mexico border. 16 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:53,400 Speaker 5: Ortiz was a border patrol. 17 00:00:53,560 --> 00:00:57,640 Speaker 1: What these individual reports reveal is just how much discretion 18 00:00:57,840 --> 00:01:02,720 Speaker 1: law enforcement has while pulled the border, and under the 19 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:08,479 Speaker 1: Trump administration's recent policy changes, these powers have expanded even more. 20 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:12,640 Speaker 6: Human rights groups have complained for months that border agents 21 00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:15,920 Speaker 6: are wrongfully turning away people seeking asylum in the US. 22 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:21,000 Speaker 7: The Trump administration began hearings Monday in makeshift tent courthouses 23 00:01:21,040 --> 00:01:22,120 Speaker 7: in South Texas. 24 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:25,679 Speaker 8: Customs and Border Protection is advancing a program that allows 25 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:28,080 Speaker 8: border patrol agents to conduct the first interview in the 26 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:29,040 Speaker 8: asylum process. 27 00:01:29,319 --> 00:01:33,000 Speaker 1: While historically there have been few attempts to increase oversight 28 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:37,479 Speaker 1: or reform, the government once actually did investigate the way 29 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:41,120 Speaker 1: policing happened on the border, but that was over one 30 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:51,240 Speaker 1: hundred years ago. From Futuro Media, It's Latino USA. I'm 31 00:01:51,240 --> 00:02:04,520 Speaker 1: Maria Inojosa. One of the early forms of law enforcement 32 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:08,600 Speaker 1: on the US Mexico border were the Texas Rangers. The 33 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:13,760 Speaker 1: Rangers were formed in eighteen thirty five and they still 34 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:18,400 Speaker 1: exist today. The image they conjure up is that of 35 00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:23,040 Speaker 1: a lone cowboy on a horse with a star shaped badge. 36 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:27,600 Speaker 1: There's a lot of cultural importance here even today. There's 37 00:02:27,639 --> 00:02:31,080 Speaker 1: a baseball team named after them, as got a third 38 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:33,799 Speaker 1: on the Error Rangers get that Forced One of the 39 00:02:33,880 --> 00:02:39,840 Speaker 1: Afternoon and a big movie that came out last year, and. 40 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:43,400 Speaker 9: You put cowboys on Bunny and class Texas Rangers. 41 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:55,160 Speaker 1: But their narrative is complicated. There's a lot of history here, 42 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:59,760 Speaker 1: but basically, back in the early eighteen hundreds, the southern 43 00:02:59,760 --> 00:03:03,200 Speaker 1: border of Texas was disputed by the US and Mexico. 44 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:07,120 Speaker 1: It wasn't until eighteen forty eight, after the Mexican American 45 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:11,440 Speaker 1: War that the Treaty of Guadalupe Valgo established the Rio 46 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:15,919 Speaker 1: Grande as the border. That meant Mexicans who were living 47 00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:19,799 Speaker 1: in the region were suddenly in US territory and Anglo 48 00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:25,040 Speaker 1: or white settlers moved in. So there's tension over land, 49 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:29,880 Speaker 1: which increased with the Mexican Revolution in nineteen ten. And 50 00:03:29,919 --> 00:03:34,640 Speaker 1: it's around then that the Ranger force started growing fast. 51 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:40,240 Speaker 2: So they are protecting in name, Anglo settlers from savage 52 00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:45,080 Speaker 2: Native nations and from treacherous Mexicans. 53 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:49,560 Speaker 1: That's historian Monica Munos Martinez. She's the author of the 54 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:54,360 Speaker 1: Injustice Never Leaves You, Anti Mexican violence in Texas. She's 55 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:58,080 Speaker 1: an assistant professor of American Studies at Brown University, and 56 00:03:58,120 --> 00:03:59,640 Speaker 1: she's from South Texas. 57 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:02,880 Speaker 2: And so what you have is the recruitment of men 58 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:08,040 Speaker 2: who have no training. They can shoot on site, they 59 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:09,240 Speaker 2: can arrest prisoners. 60 00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:13,720 Speaker 1: Claiming that they were protecting Anglo ranches from raids by 61 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:18,760 Speaker 1: Mexican bandits. The rangers terrorized the Mexican and African American community, 62 00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:21,720 Speaker 1: beating and even taking the lives of as many as 63 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:27,279 Speaker 1: five thousand people. In nineteen eighteen, a group of Rangers 64 00:04:27,400 --> 00:04:30,680 Speaker 1: was part of a ruthless massacre of fifteen men and 65 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:34,120 Speaker 1: boys in the border town of Bordebenide, Texas. 66 00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:39,680 Speaker 2: It is the most well documented example of gross abuse 67 00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:43,719 Speaker 2: and injustice, and a haunting story because despite the number 68 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:48,240 Speaker 2: of witnesses, there were no prosecutions of the Texas Rangers 69 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:49,640 Speaker 2: that participated. 70 00:04:50,240 --> 00:04:54,440 Speaker 1: After hearing about all of these abuses, one man would 71 00:04:54,480 --> 00:04:58,039 Speaker 1: decide that all of this was just too much. The 72 00:04:58,160 --> 00:05:02,560 Speaker 1: Rangers needed to be held account for their violence. That 73 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:05,920 Speaker 1: man would end up starting an investigation into the Rangers 74 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:10,240 Speaker 1: that would capture the nation's attention, and it would leave 75 00:05:10,320 --> 00:05:13,800 Speaker 1: behind a narrative about the US Mexico border that would 76 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:17,920 Speaker 1: linger even today. To tell us the story of how 77 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:21,279 Speaker 1: it all turned out, producer Liza Jaeger is going to 78 00:05:21,279 --> 00:05:21,960 Speaker 1: take it from here. 79 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:29,039 Speaker 8: Jose Tomas Canalis didn't really want to be at the 80 00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:32,520 Speaker 8: center of an investigation of the Texas Rangers, but from 81 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:34,920 Speaker 8: the very beginning that's how it was. Well, I mean, 82 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:36,680 Speaker 8: I think maybe we should just start with, like, who 83 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:38,440 Speaker 8: was he like as a person. 84 00:05:38,720 --> 00:05:40,520 Speaker 7: This guy is you know, he's in terms of like 85 00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:43,320 Speaker 7: top forty hits, right, this guy was a hit. 86 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:47,240 Speaker 8: This is Richard Ribb. He's studied Canalis for years, since 87 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:49,880 Speaker 8: he started his PhD back in the nineties. He's writing 88 00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:52,160 Speaker 8: a book about him for ut Press, and he knows 89 00:05:52,279 --> 00:05:54,400 Speaker 8: a lot of details. 90 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:59,480 Speaker 7: And he's this incredibly well educated, sharp looking. If I 91 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:01,280 Speaker 7: don't know, if you've seen pictures of him, he was 92 00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:06,080 Speaker 7: a good looking young man, like what very fine. 93 00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:08,400 Speaker 5: Cheekbones. 94 00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:12,119 Speaker 8: Canalis was born in eighteen seventy seven on a ranch 95 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:15,080 Speaker 8: in South Texas, a really huge, fancy ranch. 96 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:20,159 Speaker 7: He was from the landed elite in South Texas, whose 97 00:06:20,240 --> 00:06:24,680 Speaker 7: family in South Texas dated back into the late eighteenth century. 98 00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:28,280 Speaker 8: Canalis is descended from Spanish immigrants who settled in Texas 99 00:06:28,279 --> 00:06:31,000 Speaker 8: back when it was Mexico. By the time Canalis is born, 100 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:33,640 Speaker 8: they'd been living in the region for over one hundred years, 101 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:36,040 Speaker 8: so he's of Mexican descent as well. They're one of 102 00:06:36,120 --> 00:06:39,640 Speaker 8: the most powerful, wealthy ranching families in the region. But 103 00:06:39,960 --> 00:06:43,080 Speaker 8: Canalis from early on isn't going to be a rancher. 104 00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:45,320 Speaker 8: He goes to law school in Michigan. 105 00:06:45,080 --> 00:06:47,840 Speaker 7: And soon he is conducting the legal affairs and real 106 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:49,400 Speaker 7: estate affairs for the King Ranch. 107 00:06:50,080 --> 00:06:53,480 Speaker 8: Back from law school, Canalis starts working as a lawyer 108 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:55,520 Speaker 8: for one of the biggest ranches around. 109 00:06:55,839 --> 00:07:00,240 Speaker 7: Which would be you know, the equivalent of you know, 110 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:02,920 Speaker 7: Exxon Mobile or Amazon or something today. 111 00:07:04,040 --> 00:07:07,960 Speaker 8: It's a huge, important job and Canalis does it well. 112 00:07:08,839 --> 00:07:11,560 Speaker 8: He becomes pretty well known, powerful. 113 00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:16,080 Speaker 7: And eventually came into the political. 114 00:07:15,600 --> 00:07:16,320 Speaker 5: Side of things. 115 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:19,760 Speaker 8: In nineteen oh five, he becomes the sole official of 116 00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:23,560 Speaker 8: Mexican descent in the Texas legislature. And it's important to 117 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:27,520 Speaker 8: know that for Canalis, being a legislator isn't really just 118 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:32,360 Speaker 8: a job. He was really religious and law legal system 119 00:07:32,640 --> 00:07:35,600 Speaker 8: for him, all of that gets wrapped up in his faith. 120 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:38,400 Speaker 5: Canalis is all about the rule of law. 121 00:07:39,760 --> 00:07:43,920 Speaker 7: If the rule of law breaks down, then we're no 122 00:07:44,080 --> 00:07:45,680 Speaker 7: more than savage beasts. 123 00:07:48,360 --> 00:07:48,720 Speaker 10: Okay. 124 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:52,000 Speaker 8: So that's his mentality and the other thing to know 125 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:56,000 Speaker 8: about Canalis he is very familiar with the Texas Rangers. 126 00:07:56,680 --> 00:08:01,800 Speaker 8: He idolizes as the Texas Rangers Monica Munos Martinez. Again, 127 00:08:02,360 --> 00:08:05,800 Speaker 8: Canalis is familiar with the Rangers because he grew up 128 00:08:05,840 --> 00:08:06,160 Speaker 8: with them. 129 00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:10,080 Speaker 7: He tells stories about the Rangers, like camping on their property, 130 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:14,600 Speaker 7: about them swapping horses with the rangers, and that you 131 00:08:14,640 --> 00:08:17,160 Speaker 7: know they were glad to see them when they came around, 132 00:08:17,200 --> 00:08:19,080 Speaker 7: and they you know, they were men of honor. 133 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:23,680 Speaker 8: But as a state representative, Canalis starts getting reports about 134 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:27,680 Speaker 8: the rangers, and they're telling a really different story that 135 00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:31,280 Speaker 8: the rangers, especially those rangers who are hired fast in 136 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:35,199 Speaker 8: a group, pretty untrained, are not the rangers of his youth. 137 00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:38,040 Speaker 8: He hears about men shot in the back just for 138 00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:41,800 Speaker 8: reporting a crime, or burnt alive, beaten to death, all 139 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:47,600 Speaker 8: of this with no prosecutions, no serious oversight, and to Canalis, 140 00:08:48,040 --> 00:08:51,520 Speaker 8: all of that sounds like the rule of law breaking down. 141 00:08:51,920 --> 00:09:00,080 Speaker 2: So he starts to be unsettled by this culture of impunity. 142 00:09:01,240 --> 00:09:04,880 Speaker 8: And then a relative of Canelis, a rancher, is tortured 143 00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:06,920 Speaker 8: by a group of rangers. It happens when he's on 144 00:09:06,960 --> 00:09:11,359 Speaker 8: his own property. They claim that he's helping bandits. Canalis 145 00:09:11,360 --> 00:09:13,240 Speaker 8: writes about the case to the governor. 146 00:09:13,480 --> 00:09:15,000 Speaker 5: Like, you've got to clean these guys up. 147 00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:20,440 Speaker 7: These rangers are a destructive force, and if he could 148 00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:23,640 Speaker 7: just talk to somebody, get him to see the light, 149 00:09:24,480 --> 00:09:26,079 Speaker 7: then they would act responsibly. 150 00:09:26,720 --> 00:09:31,480 Speaker 8: But the governor doesn't do anything about it. And then 151 00:09:31,679 --> 00:09:34,480 Speaker 8: one day Canalis is walking down the street by his 152 00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:35,640 Speaker 8: law office and. 153 00:09:35,679 --> 00:09:39,520 Speaker 7: He hears this shout from behind him and approaching him 154 00:09:39,559 --> 00:09:44,920 Speaker 7: as this massive individual six four two eighty maybe it's. 155 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:46,560 Speaker 8: A ranger named Frank. 156 00:09:46,280 --> 00:09:51,120 Speaker 7: Hamer, and he says to Canalis, you better stop what 157 00:09:51,160 --> 00:09:52,280 Speaker 7: you're doing or you're going to get. 158 00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:57,640 Speaker 8: Hurt, as in, stop complaining about the rangers. And that 159 00:09:58,160 --> 00:10:00,640 Speaker 8: for Canalis that's a turning point. 160 00:10:01,440 --> 00:10:04,000 Speaker 2: Him with all of his privilege, he's not even protected 161 00:10:04,640 --> 00:10:07,079 Speaker 2: from this kind of racial intimidation. 162 00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:13,640 Speaker 8: So in January of nineteen nineteen, Canalis arrives at the 163 00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:17,760 Speaker 8: Statehouse in Texas with a plan. Canalis, lover of law 164 00:10:17,800 --> 00:10:21,000 Speaker 8: and order, has written a bill, a bill recommending some 165 00:10:21,160 --> 00:10:23,840 Speaker 8: simple reforms. 166 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:26,480 Speaker 5: And it creates quite a fewer. 167 00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:30,880 Speaker 8: He wants fewer rangers, better discipline, a bond system, basically 168 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:33,679 Speaker 8: meaning that if a ranger killed someone, the victim's family 169 00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:34,679 Speaker 8: could seek compensation. 170 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:38,600 Speaker 7: So it comes in and the word gets out that 171 00:10:38,760 --> 00:10:45,360 Speaker 7: Canalis wants to take down the rangers. That's the message. 172 00:10:45,720 --> 00:10:48,880 Speaker 8: Canalis doesn't want to take down the rangers. He just 173 00:10:48,920 --> 00:10:52,520 Speaker 8: wants to pass a bill for more oversight reform, and 174 00:10:52,600 --> 00:10:53,200 Speaker 8: can in. 175 00:10:53,240 --> 00:10:54,319 Speaker 5: A way whoa, whoa, whoa. 176 00:10:54,360 --> 00:10:57,439 Speaker 7: Wait, who's calling for the dissolving of the Rangers. 177 00:10:57,440 --> 00:11:00,319 Speaker 8: Not me, but the legislature decides. 178 00:11:00,400 --> 00:11:01,600 Speaker 5: Let's have a hearing about all this. 179 00:11:01,679 --> 00:11:03,679 Speaker 7: Let's have a hearing on the existence of the future 180 00:11:03,720 --> 00:11:04,720 Speaker 7: existence of the Rangers. 181 00:11:04,720 --> 00:11:08,000 Speaker 8: Are not a public hearing on the legislature floor. 182 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:13,600 Speaker 9: The committee will now come to order. 183 00:11:14,720 --> 00:11:16,920 Speaker 8: So for this next part of the story, we're going 184 00:11:16,960 --> 00:11:20,640 Speaker 8: to take you inside that investigation, which is over one 185 00:11:20,679 --> 00:11:23,480 Speaker 8: hundred years old. So to bring it alive, we have 186 00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:25,680 Speaker 8: some voice actors who will be reading a bit from 187 00:11:25,720 --> 00:11:37,959 Speaker 8: that transcript. It's January thirty first, nineteen nineteen, and Canelis 188 00:11:38,080 --> 00:11:40,560 Speaker 8: is in the middle of this six hundred square foot 189 00:11:40,600 --> 00:11:43,280 Speaker 8: room at the State Capitol in Austin. There are all 190 00:11:43,280 --> 00:11:46,440 Speaker 8: these rows of desks, a podium up front, and a 191 00:11:46,559 --> 00:11:51,280 Speaker 8: serious audience. Every Texas Ranger has been called to Austin 192 00:11:51,400 --> 00:11:54,400 Speaker 8: for the investigation, and they've shown up at the Capitol 193 00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:55,800 Speaker 8: building filling the room. 194 00:11:56,120 --> 00:11:59,240 Speaker 2: You know, there are accounts of the room being so 195 00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:02,040 Speaker 2: packed that people are spilling out to the hallways and 196 00:12:02,080 --> 00:12:03,360 Speaker 2: looking in from the windows. 197 00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:06,160 Speaker 8: And the plan for this whole thing is get a 198 00:12:06,200 --> 00:12:08,960 Speaker 8: bunch of witnesses to talk about exactly how the Rangers 199 00:12:08,960 --> 00:12:13,720 Speaker 8: are acting and at the end decide are they doing 200 00:12:13,720 --> 00:12:18,440 Speaker 8: a good job or are they breaking the law? And 201 00:12:18,760 --> 00:12:22,800 Speaker 8: canelli Is he's pretty much single handedly in charge of 202 00:12:22,840 --> 00:12:24,480 Speaker 8: making the case against the Rangers. 203 00:12:28,480 --> 00:12:32,559 Speaker 5: He's in over his head. He's in way over his head. 204 00:12:33,080 --> 00:12:35,720 Speaker 7: I mean, this all has come up on the fly, right, 205 00:12:35,800 --> 00:12:38,000 Speaker 7: It's not like he's been planning this for six months. 206 00:12:38,320 --> 00:12:40,679 Speaker 5: He's putting this together on like a week's notice. 207 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:43,559 Speaker 8: But if you read those first few pages of the transcript, 208 00:12:43,800 --> 00:12:47,600 Speaker 8: Canelis seems to start out pretty confident. He has his 209 00:12:47,679 --> 00:12:49,800 Speaker 8: letter he's written up with a bunch of charges against 210 00:12:49,800 --> 00:12:52,240 Speaker 8: the Rangers, and he hands it out to all these 211 00:12:52,280 --> 00:12:55,520 Speaker 8: important people in the room. On the first day of testimony, 212 00:12:55,600 --> 00:12:58,480 Speaker 8: this big group of men shows up to talk. They're 213 00:12:58,520 --> 00:13:01,440 Speaker 8: all Anglo businessmen and ran and they're there to talk 214 00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:05,040 Speaker 8: about general conditions on the border and their personal histories 215 00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:08,640 Speaker 8: with the Rangers. So one of the first witnesses Canalis 216 00:13:08,720 --> 00:13:10,880 Speaker 8: questions is a guy who runs a car shop in 217 00:13:10,880 --> 00:13:14,280 Speaker 8: Idelgo County, in a town called Mercedes, which is right 218 00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:15,600 Speaker 8: near the bottom tip of Texas. 219 00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:19,720 Speaker 9: He jumps right in, you say you live in Mercedes, Yes, sir, 220 00:13:20,120 --> 00:13:22,800 Speaker 9: you remember the incident of the young man that came 221 00:13:22,840 --> 00:13:25,439 Speaker 9: to Mercedes during the bandit trouble we had in nineteen 222 00:13:25,559 --> 00:13:29,480 Speaker 9: fifteen on the branch train, arrived there about noon and 223 00:13:29,720 --> 00:13:33,160 Speaker 9: was arrested by rangers. He had his hand in a 224 00:13:33,200 --> 00:13:36,559 Speaker 9: sling and was arrested by rangers and was found dead 225 00:13:36,920 --> 00:13:38,480 Speaker 9: a few minutes afterwards. 226 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:42,400 Speaker 8: So here Canalis, he's reminding the guy of this case 227 00:13:42,520 --> 00:13:45,200 Speaker 8: where a wounded man had come to town for medical help, 228 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:48,199 Speaker 8: and because the man was of Mexican heritage and had 229 00:13:48,280 --> 00:13:50,760 Speaker 8: arrived a few days after a bandit raid in town 230 00:13:50,880 --> 00:13:53,760 Speaker 8: where bandits were injured, he was shot and killed by 231 00:13:53,800 --> 00:13:57,240 Speaker 8: the rangers, no questions asked, even though he had nothing 232 00:13:57,280 --> 00:13:58,000 Speaker 8: to do with the raid. 233 00:13:58,800 --> 00:14:01,920 Speaker 9: This wounded man. You know, it was a day or 234 00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:05,000 Speaker 9: two after the incident that this man arrived at Mercedes 235 00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:07,679 Speaker 9: on the noon train with his hand in a sling 236 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:11,400 Speaker 9: to see the doctor and was arrested and immediately taken 237 00:14:11,440 --> 00:14:14,280 Speaker 9: out and shot, thinking he was one of those persons 238 00:14:14,280 --> 00:14:15,040 Speaker 9: wounded in that. 239 00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:19,200 Speaker 8: And Canalis is kind of like, come on, remember this 240 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:22,440 Speaker 8: thing that happened. But the car shop owner up on 241 00:14:22,480 --> 00:14:26,840 Speaker 8: the stand says no, multiple times. 242 00:14:26,880 --> 00:14:29,520 Speaker 10: No, I never heard of any such case as. 243 00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:34,280 Speaker 8: That, and maybe it's then that Canalis starts to realize 244 00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:37,360 Speaker 8: that he's not going to be like collectively putting heads 245 00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:39,360 Speaker 8: together with everyone in the room to get to the 246 00:14:39,360 --> 00:14:42,200 Speaker 8: bottom of what's really going on with the Rangers. The 247 00:14:42,200 --> 00:14:46,200 Speaker 8: investigation is going to be a fight, one version of 248 00:14:46,280 --> 00:14:53,560 Speaker 8: reality against another, and for many of the witnesses in 249 00:14:53,600 --> 00:14:57,200 Speaker 8: those first few days, their reality of the US Mexico 250 00:14:57,280 --> 00:15:00,720 Speaker 8: border is that it's a violent place. This is an 251 00:15:00,760 --> 00:15:04,800 Speaker 8: Anglo settler from South Texas on the stand being questioned. 252 00:15:05,240 --> 00:15:07,920 Speaker 4: Would you be afraid to continue your residence there if 253 00:15:07,920 --> 00:15:09,400 Speaker 4: they should abolish the Rangers. 254 00:15:10,160 --> 00:15:12,760 Speaker 9: I think it would be dangerous. I think would start 255 00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:13,560 Speaker 9: all over again. 256 00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:16,560 Speaker 3: The bandits and outlaws across the river now will come 257 00:15:16,600 --> 00:15:20,560 Speaker 3: on this side more. We were almost terror stricken down there. 258 00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:22,960 Speaker 3: We look upon the rangers as more or less of 259 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:25,160 Speaker 3: a godsend to our valley. 260 00:15:27,160 --> 00:15:30,160 Speaker 8: Settlers are describing a border region where the Rangers are 261 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:35,000 Speaker 8: necessary and Mexicans are outlaws. One layer who testifies says 262 00:15:35,040 --> 00:15:40,160 Speaker 8: the border is infested with banditry, and Canalis has a 263 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:42,600 Speaker 8: different narrative. He has a lot of evidence on his side, 264 00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:45,840 Speaker 8: stacks of testimonies from people who've written to him, about 265 00:15:45,920 --> 00:15:48,640 Speaker 8: ranger abuse, except there's a catch. 266 00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:52,760 Speaker 2: People know that if you bring charges against the Texas Ranger, 267 00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:56,040 Speaker 2: you're likely going to be killed. People know this. 268 00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:03,400 Speaker 8: People are too afraid to testify in person. The next 269 00:16:03,400 --> 00:16:06,080 Speaker 8: few days of the trail are just this barrage of witnesses. 270 00:16:06,600 --> 00:16:09,120 Speaker 8: Canellis doesn't even get his own witnesses on the stand 271 00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:13,160 Speaker 8: for days, and it's not until the seventh day that 272 00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:15,560 Speaker 8: Canelis actually gets someone on the stand who is of 273 00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:19,720 Speaker 8: Mexican heritage, a man named Jesus Viareal. He's in law 274 00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:24,200 Speaker 8: enforcement in South Texas. At Constable. Viarel says one day 275 00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:26,080 Speaker 8: he was driving three men to his ranch when a 276 00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:29,840 Speaker 8: ranger pulled them over. The ranger interrogated them aggressively, and 277 00:16:30,040 --> 00:16:32,280 Speaker 8: Vilereal tells the story on the stand. 278 00:16:33,040 --> 00:16:36,400 Speaker 11: They got hold of me by the throat, mouth and 279 00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:39,920 Speaker 11: nos and they held me that way about five minutes. 280 00:16:40,840 --> 00:16:43,760 Speaker 9: They told me to speak. I could not speak. 281 00:16:44,480 --> 00:16:48,120 Speaker 8: He says. The rangers beat them with pistols until they 282 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:52,160 Speaker 8: confess to a crime draft divasion, but that it was 283 00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:53,120 Speaker 8: a false confession. 284 00:16:53,680 --> 00:16:58,240 Speaker 11: I told him there was an untruth. Then the cocked 285 00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:02,400 Speaker 11: pistol was put into my off. They told me I 286 00:17:02,440 --> 00:17:04,760 Speaker 11: would tell the truth or they would kill me. 287 00:17:09,119 --> 00:17:12,240 Speaker 8: Via Reale is one of just two Mexican American victims 288 00:17:12,240 --> 00:17:15,640 Speaker 8: of Ranger abuse who speak during the investigation, and at 289 00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:17,679 Speaker 8: the end of his testimony, he gets asked to do 290 00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:21,800 Speaker 8: this thing to point out his abuser, the man who 291 00:17:21,800 --> 00:17:29,560 Speaker 8: he's just told that whole story about. He's in the room. 292 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:34,960 Speaker 8: The investigation is by all accounts, grueling, but janels he 293 00:17:35,040 --> 00:17:36,600 Speaker 8: feels like he's doing pretty well. 294 00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:40,760 Speaker 2: I think that he wholeheartedly believes that if you show 295 00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:43,760 Speaker 2: the ways in which people are being denied du process, 296 00:17:44,119 --> 00:17:47,040 Speaker 2: that that is going to alarm politicians, and so I 297 00:17:47,080 --> 00:17:50,320 Speaker 2: think that he has more faith in American democracy at 298 00:17:50,320 --> 00:17:54,159 Speaker 2: that time that looking at the conditions, looking at the context, 299 00:17:54,160 --> 00:17:55,080 Speaker 2: than I would have had. 300 00:17:55,880 --> 00:17:58,840 Speaker 8: But Monica says that there's also this bigger thing that's happening. 301 00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:02,800 Speaker 8: The Ranger investigation is being reported on every day, not 302 00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:06,960 Speaker 8: just locally but also nationally. It's read by people who've 303 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:09,680 Speaker 8: never been to Texas, let alone South Texas. 304 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:12,760 Speaker 2: So people are developing these ideas about what the border is, 305 00:18:13,160 --> 00:18:17,280 Speaker 2: what Mexicans are, and because many people haven't actually been there, 306 00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:20,120 Speaker 2: the people who are testifying or setting the scene. 307 00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:24,360 Speaker 8: Of a place full of Mexican outlaws and horse thieves 308 00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:26,080 Speaker 8: and draft dodgers on the border. 309 00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:30,120 Speaker 2: The attorneys create this narrative that there is a crisis 310 00:18:30,160 --> 00:18:33,720 Speaker 2: on the border and that Anglos are under threat and 311 00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:37,280 Speaker 2: that they are being murdered in mass by Mexicans, which 312 00:18:37,320 --> 00:18:38,320 Speaker 2: is not accurate. 313 00:18:39,119 --> 00:18:41,800 Speaker 8: It starts to become evident that that's not an accident. 314 00:18:42,119 --> 00:18:47,719 Speaker 8: It's a strategy paint the border as lawless and Mexicans 315 00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:53,080 Speaker 8: as violent, disloyal and patriotic, and anyone who disagrees probably 316 00:18:53,119 --> 00:18:54,120 Speaker 8: shouldn't be trusted. 317 00:18:59,280 --> 00:19:02,199 Speaker 1: Coming up on the you know usay, the investigation of 318 00:19:02,240 --> 00:19:07,640 Speaker 1: the Texas Rangers is about to get personal. Stay with us, 319 00:19:07,760 --> 00:19:57,800 Speaker 1: not yes, hey, we're back. It's nineteen nineteen and J. T. 320 00:19:57,960 --> 00:20:01,760 Speaker 1: Canalis is the only member of the Texas State Legislature 321 00:20:02,119 --> 00:20:06,560 Speaker 1: of Mexican heritage, and he begins a full scale investigation 322 00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:10,560 Speaker 1: into the lawless behavior of the Texas Rangers, who have 323 00:20:10,640 --> 00:20:14,879 Speaker 1: been known to arrest, torture, or even murder Mexican Americans 324 00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:18,359 Speaker 1: on the border with impunity. And in this part of 325 00:20:18,400 --> 00:20:23,080 Speaker 1: the hearing things start to heat up. Producer Liza Jaeger 326 00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:26,480 Speaker 1: takes us to Austin, Texas and the biggest day of 327 00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:27,360 Speaker 1: the investigation. 328 00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:32,240 Speaker 8: The ranger's hearing is pretty well publicized. People in Austin 329 00:20:32,320 --> 00:20:35,600 Speaker 8: are paying attention. But there's one moment that's advertised in 330 00:20:35,600 --> 00:20:39,359 Speaker 8: the papers for days beforehand. It's the tenth day of testimony, 331 00:20:39,440 --> 00:20:42,280 Speaker 8: when Canalis himself is slated to take the stand. 332 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:46,160 Speaker 2: People were spilling out of the room trying to watch 333 00:20:46,200 --> 00:20:46,920 Speaker 2: what was happening. 334 00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:50,159 Speaker 8: It's ten am and Canalis settles into his seat at 335 00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:53,120 Speaker 8: the front of the room, poised and smiling, and then 336 00:20:53,320 --> 00:20:54,119 Speaker 8: he starts talking. 337 00:20:54,560 --> 00:20:58,679 Speaker 2: So he actually starts with a long monologue he gives 338 00:20:58,720 --> 00:21:03,639 Speaker 2: He introduces himself to the people in the room, and 339 00:21:03,880 --> 00:21:06,639 Speaker 2: really it's like he's introducing himself to the journalists who 340 00:21:06,680 --> 00:21:07,719 Speaker 2: are going to be writing about this. 341 00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:11,639 Speaker 9: My name is J. T. Canales. I was born in 342 00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:15,640 Speaker 9: the old County of Nueces, state of Texas, very near 343 00:21:15,720 --> 00:21:19,199 Speaker 9: to the present town of Kingsville. I am forty two 344 00:21:19,280 --> 00:21:23,240 Speaker 9: years old, will be next month. I went to the 345 00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:27,280 Speaker 9: public schools of my county, came to Austin and attended 346 00:21:27,280 --> 00:21:28,120 Speaker 9: business college. 347 00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:31,159 Speaker 8: He talks about his degrees, his history of service for 348 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:35,639 Speaker 8: the state, and Canalis he's being strategic here, like, come on, 349 00:21:35,680 --> 00:21:37,880 Speaker 8: you guys, we're on the same team. We're all from 350 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:38,639 Speaker 8: the same world. 351 00:21:39,119 --> 00:21:43,880 Speaker 2: He was lighter skinned, his wife was Anglo, and so 352 00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:48,320 Speaker 2: he very much is trying to align himself in terms 353 00:21:48,359 --> 00:21:52,560 Speaker 2: of his family history and his political work with the 354 00:21:52,600 --> 00:21:55,720 Speaker 2: other men, the other white men who are in the 355 00:21:55,760 --> 00:21:56,760 Speaker 2: Texas legislature. 356 00:21:57,080 --> 00:21:59,720 Speaker 8: He starts narrating how he feels like the Rangers for 357 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:03,119 Speaker 8: almost one hundred years were this great heroic force. 358 00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:05,919 Speaker 9: They were a capable set of men and did not 359 00:22:06,040 --> 00:22:09,480 Speaker 9: need any restriction because their own conscience was a self 360 00:22:09,520 --> 00:22:10,680 Speaker 9: restraint and law. 361 00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:13,800 Speaker 8: But that little by little they've gone rotten. 362 00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:18,399 Speaker 9: In nineteen fifteen, so far as my recollection goes, is 363 00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:22,080 Speaker 9: when the first general outrages perpetrated by Rangers began. 364 00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:25,680 Speaker 8: He explains that bandit raids on the border increased because 365 00:22:25,720 --> 00:22:29,600 Speaker 8: of economic instability after the Mexican revelation, and then he 366 00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:32,880 Speaker 8: spends the next two and a half hours explaining how 367 00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:35,560 Speaker 8: the Rangers have come to violate the people's trust as 368 00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:36,320 Speaker 8: law enforcement. 369 00:22:37,040 --> 00:22:39,000 Speaker 10: Are you ready for the cross examination? 370 00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:42,840 Speaker 8: And then it's time for questions. The Rangers lawyer, this 371 00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:47,240 Speaker 8: man named Robert E. Lee Knight, gets up mister Canalis 372 00:22:47,320 --> 00:22:51,600 Speaker 8: and he starts grilling Canalis, mostly about his motives. 373 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:53,639 Speaker 4: Have you not consciously or do you think it is 374 00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:57,760 Speaker 4: possible unconsciously permitted yourself to be worked into a condition 375 00:22:58,040 --> 00:23:01,840 Speaker 4: where you are prone to the outrageous, perpetrated and magnify 376 00:23:01,920 --> 00:23:05,280 Speaker 4: the casual mistakes of those struggling with the situation down there. 377 00:23:05,520 --> 00:23:06,920 Speaker 4: About what you have testified. 378 00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:10,200 Speaker 8: Okay, so what's happening here is he's asking this really 379 00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:14,159 Speaker 8: roundabout question where he's basically saying, don't you have an 380 00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:18,760 Speaker 8: agenda here, an anti white, pro Mexican agenda? 381 00:23:18,880 --> 00:23:22,120 Speaker 9: No, sir, I do not at all. I say here 382 00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:25,680 Speaker 9: that the men who killed the Austins and others down 383 00:23:25,680 --> 00:23:27,800 Speaker 9: there committed cold blooded murder. 384 00:23:28,640 --> 00:23:33,240 Speaker 8: Canalis is like, no, I'm not biased. These murders are 385 00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:37,359 Speaker 8: just wrong. And basically for hours, this is the tone 386 00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:40,840 Speaker 8: of the back and forth between Knight and Canalis. The 387 00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:42,840 Speaker 8: committee actually has to take a break for dinner, and 388 00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:46,960 Speaker 8: when they come back, there's a surprise testimony. State Representative 389 00:23:47,400 --> 00:23:50,879 Speaker 8: Claude Hudsmith has traveled all the way from DC to testify. 390 00:23:51,800 --> 00:23:54,960 Speaker 10: You have lately been elected a member of Congress. 391 00:23:55,359 --> 00:23:57,960 Speaker 9: Yes, from the sixteenth Congressional District. 392 00:23:58,720 --> 00:24:01,160 Speaker 8: Hudsmith is a really big He's one of the most 393 00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:04,760 Speaker 8: respected politicians in the state from El Paso, and from 394 00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:07,720 Speaker 8: the start his testimony is aggressive. 395 00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:12,080 Speaker 6: I don't believe in this, mister Chairman, in extending very 396 00:24:12,160 --> 00:24:14,439 Speaker 6: much clemency to men who come across that river and 397 00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:17,400 Speaker 6: murder our wives and children. You have got to kill 398 00:24:17,440 --> 00:24:19,879 Speaker 6: those Mexicans when you find them, or they will kill you. 399 00:24:21,359 --> 00:24:26,120 Speaker 2: He describes Mexicans as inherently violent. He calls them murderers 400 00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:29,120 Speaker 2: and rapists. You know, it's all transcribed, and he says 401 00:24:29,160 --> 00:24:31,520 Speaker 2: things like you can't give them a chance. You have 402 00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:33,960 Speaker 2: to shoot them when you see them, you know, saying 403 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:36,600 Speaker 2: if you remove the Texas Rangers, I will calm down 404 00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:39,080 Speaker 2: from DC and lead a mob if I have to. 405 00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:42,560 Speaker 6: Now, I'm going to be candid with you, tell you 406 00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:45,800 Speaker 6: about mob law. If I had it in my power, 407 00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:48,520 Speaker 6: I would lead a mob in a minute against them. 408 00:24:48,880 --> 00:24:51,080 Speaker 10: You are speaking as a citizen. 409 00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:54,760 Speaker 6: Yes, I'm speaking as a citizen. We are not going 410 00:24:54,800 --> 00:25:00,160 Speaker 6: to stand for those bandits to ravage our country. 411 00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:07,960 Speaker 8: After Hudspith, the Rangers lawyer picks up the cross examination 412 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:12,240 Speaker 8: of Canalis, and that's when things start to get even uglier, 413 00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:13,440 Speaker 8: more personal. 414 00:25:14,280 --> 00:25:17,720 Speaker 4: Now, mister Canalis, you are by blood a Mexican, are 415 00:25:17,760 --> 00:25:18,040 Speaker 4: you not? 416 00:25:19,440 --> 00:25:22,360 Speaker 9: I am not a Mexican. I am an American citizen. 417 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:25,440 Speaker 4: Your father or grandfather came from Mexico. 418 00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:27,840 Speaker 9: My father came from Mexico. 419 00:25:28,400 --> 00:25:30,120 Speaker 4: How old were you when he came here. 420 00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:32,520 Speaker 9: I don't know. I wasn't born then. 421 00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:35,480 Speaker 4: And you don't know from family history or tradition where 422 00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:38,720 Speaker 4: he came. No, sir, and all of your people are 423 00:25:38,760 --> 00:25:42,760 Speaker 4: not Americans, that is, are not citizens of the United States. 424 00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:46,359 Speaker 4: Mister Canalis, have you any blood relatives on the other side, 425 00:25:47,119 --> 00:25:51,760 Speaker 4: I have got some, yes, sir, how many I don't know. 426 00:25:52,080 --> 00:25:54,960 Speaker 9: I can't tell you because I haven't been to Mexico 427 00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:55,840 Speaker 9: in a long time. 428 00:25:56,680 --> 00:25:59,440 Speaker 8: The lawyer is basically saying to the room, look at 429 00:25:59,440 --> 00:26:03,520 Speaker 8: this guy, because he has Mexican heritage, we should think 430 00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:07,760 Speaker 8: twice about everything he says and this whole investigation. 431 00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:11,440 Speaker 10: You want this committee to assume that because mister Canalis 432 00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:14,520 Speaker 10: has some relatives in Mexico, that he is disloyal. 433 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:16,040 Speaker 5: No, sir, I do not. 434 00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:19,520 Speaker 4: I simply offer it under the ordinary rules the proceedings 435 00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:22,320 Speaker 4: of this character. Hear me a moment, It will do 436 00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:25,679 Speaker 4: no harm. There is a saying that blood is thicker 437 00:26:25,680 --> 00:26:28,640 Speaker 4: than water. I am not accusing the gentleman of consciously 438 00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:31,919 Speaker 4: having motives that are not worthy. But I say that 439 00:26:32,040 --> 00:26:34,720 Speaker 4: might unconsciously influence him in this matter. 440 00:26:35,280 --> 00:26:39,479 Speaker 8: And remember, for Canalis this whole time, the heart of 441 00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:42,960 Speaker 8: his problem with the Rangers hasn't actually been that they're 442 00:26:42,960 --> 00:26:46,840 Speaker 8: targeting Mexicans or people with Mexican heritage. He's upset because 443 00:26:46,880 --> 00:26:52,480 Speaker 8: they're breaking the law. So Monica says, for him to 444 00:26:52,520 --> 00:26:55,359 Speaker 8: be personally attacked like this, it's a blow. 445 00:26:56,119 --> 00:27:01,600 Speaker 2: He saw himself as a Texan, as an American, and 446 00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:06,080 Speaker 2: didn't identify as being Mexican, and in this investigation, in 447 00:27:06,160 --> 00:27:08,840 Speaker 2: the ways in which he is traded, this is an 448 00:27:08,840 --> 00:27:11,000 Speaker 2: effort by these lawyers to put him in his place 449 00:27:11,280 --> 00:27:16,040 Speaker 2: and to say you are a Mexican. Just try to demean. 450 00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:28,760 Speaker 12: Him anything further with this witness, gentlemen. 451 00:27:28,960 --> 00:27:30,040 Speaker 9: Absolutely through. 452 00:27:33,400 --> 00:27:35,560 Speaker 8: By the time the hearings closed that day, it's been 453 00:27:35,600 --> 00:27:46,840 Speaker 8: twelve hours since Canlis first took the stand. The hearings 454 00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:51,440 Speaker 8: end on February eleventh, eighty three people have testified. A 455 00:27:51,480 --> 00:27:54,520 Speaker 8: few days later, the hearings committee releases their report. 456 00:27:55,040 --> 00:27:59,680 Speaker 7: The committee says, Okay, we've carefully considered this stuff and 457 00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:05,840 Speaker 7: Rangers are fine. They exonerated them finest force the world 458 00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:07,440 Speaker 7: has ever seen kind of stuff. 459 00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:10,119 Speaker 8: They go out of their way to commend the Rangers 460 00:28:10,160 --> 00:28:13,520 Speaker 8: captain and his general for doing excellent work. They've been 461 00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:16,280 Speaker 8: under trying conditions, the report says, and done a good 462 00:28:16,359 --> 00:28:19,680 Speaker 8: job in a violent place. They do include a few 463 00:28:19,760 --> 00:28:21,320 Speaker 8: specific incidents of abuse. 464 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:24,560 Speaker 7: This guy and this guy and this guy were bad apples, 465 00:28:24,600 --> 00:28:27,920 Speaker 7: you know, like this guy went rogue, that guy went rogue. 466 00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:28,600 Speaker 5: You know this guy. 467 00:28:28,960 --> 00:28:32,639 Speaker 8: And there were some big changes afterwards. Many members of 468 00:28:32,680 --> 00:28:35,399 Speaker 8: the force were dismissed, mostly the ones that were hired 469 00:28:35,440 --> 00:28:39,680 Speaker 8: quickly and without qualifications, and a way to hear complaints 470 00:28:39,880 --> 00:28:45,640 Speaker 8: was put in place. But overall, systematically the Rangers procedures 471 00:28:45,760 --> 00:28:51,320 Speaker 8: mostly don't change, and the findings don't call for any prosecutions. Later, 472 00:28:51,560 --> 00:28:54,160 Speaker 8: the Rangers captain writes about the report to a friend 473 00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:57,880 Speaker 8: and tells him quote, the committee report was all we 474 00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:00,640 Speaker 8: could hope for. Vindication complete. 475 00:29:01,120 --> 00:29:06,560 Speaker 7: But even after the hearings, House Bill five is still around. 476 00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:10,640 Speaker 8: This is Canalis's original bill for Ranger reform, but now 477 00:29:10,920 --> 00:29:14,040 Speaker 8: it's gutted of power. Mostly it just gives the Rangers 478 00:29:14,040 --> 00:29:16,960 Speaker 8: a raise, which infuriates Canalis. 479 00:29:17,280 --> 00:29:21,440 Speaker 7: He fights it to the nail on the House floor, 480 00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:27,360 Speaker 7: almost coming to blows. 481 00:29:26,160 --> 00:29:29,080 Speaker 8: The bill passes. When canalis Is asked about it in 482 00:29:29,120 --> 00:29:33,200 Speaker 8: the newspaper later, he says, I do not recognize my child. 483 00:29:34,560 --> 00:29:38,320 Speaker 8: Canellis doesn't run for office again after that session. He 484 00:29:38,360 --> 00:29:40,040 Speaker 8: goes back to Brownsville. 485 00:29:40,360 --> 00:29:42,840 Speaker 2: He continues to work as a lawyer, not. 486 00:29:43,040 --> 00:29:47,760 Speaker 8: In politics, the illegal advocacy, and in nineteen twenty nine 487 00:29:47,880 --> 00:29:49,840 Speaker 8: he helped to found what is one of the main 488 00:29:49,880 --> 00:29:53,840 Speaker 8: civil rights organizations for Latinos today, LULAC, the League of 489 00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:55,520 Speaker 8: United Latin American Citizens. 490 00:29:57,000 --> 00:30:00,920 Speaker 2: And he then continues to help design this legal strategy 491 00:30:01,320 --> 00:30:04,840 Speaker 2: for seeking more rights from Mexican Americans. And so the 492 00:30:04,880 --> 00:30:07,160 Speaker 2: way that he does that shifts, though, you know, the 493 00:30:07,240 --> 00:30:10,960 Speaker 2: idea of who they're fighting for, whose rights they're trying 494 00:30:11,040 --> 00:30:13,920 Speaker 2: to defend, shrinks. 495 00:30:16,320 --> 00:30:19,440 Speaker 8: In the early days, members were US citizens only, and 496 00:30:19,600 --> 00:30:23,640 Speaker 8: women were not encouraged to join. And Monica argues that 497 00:30:23,960 --> 00:30:28,479 Speaker 8: in that early advocacy, a particular strategy starts to take shape. 498 00:30:29,240 --> 00:30:32,880 Speaker 2: So it's essentially, you know, the strategy of civil rights 499 00:30:32,960 --> 00:30:37,160 Speaker 2: that says, like, we will through this respectability politics. You know, 500 00:30:37,240 --> 00:30:40,560 Speaker 2: we are well educated, we have good jobs, we have 501 00:30:40,880 --> 00:30:45,320 Speaker 2: histories of military service, and we're good patriotic citizens that 502 00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:50,360 Speaker 2: they as a legal strategy claim a category of whiteness. 503 00:30:50,520 --> 00:30:55,080 Speaker 8: And she says canalists latching onto that strategy. It might 504 00:30:55,120 --> 00:30:58,360 Speaker 8: have been related to his experience in nineteen nineteen in 505 00:30:58,400 --> 00:30:59,440 Speaker 8: the Ranger investigation. 506 00:31:00,440 --> 00:31:06,320 Speaker 2: Historians have interpreted his conservative politics in the twenties and 507 00:31:06,360 --> 00:31:09,680 Speaker 2: thirties and forties and thereafter is really being shaped by 508 00:31:10,640 --> 00:31:11,959 Speaker 2: this experience in the trial. 509 00:31:16,560 --> 00:31:18,640 Speaker 8: When it comes to what the Ranger investigation meant for 510 00:31:18,720 --> 00:31:21,640 Speaker 8: law enforcement on the border, this is a moment of 511 00:31:21,680 --> 00:31:23,680 Speaker 8: some reform, some acknowledgment. 512 00:31:25,960 --> 00:31:29,320 Speaker 2: Some people look at this investigation in nineteen nineteen as saying, 513 00:31:29,360 --> 00:31:32,840 Speaker 2: that's the endpoint. The crimes were put on display, and 514 00:31:32,840 --> 00:31:35,719 Speaker 2: so the Texas Rangers were reformed. And then after that 515 00:31:35,760 --> 00:31:37,320 Speaker 2: the Texas Rangers were wonderful. 516 00:31:37,840 --> 00:31:41,720 Speaker 8: Right for historians like Monica and for many descendants of 517 00:31:41,720 --> 00:31:44,320 Speaker 8: people who were hurt by the Rangers, it wasn't that 518 00:31:44,440 --> 00:31:49,880 Speaker 8: simple because mostly the investigation affirmed a culture of anti 519 00:31:49,960 --> 00:31:53,880 Speaker 8: Mexican policing, one that didn't change after those weeks in 520 00:31:53,920 --> 00:31:54,520 Speaker 8: the hearings. 521 00:31:55,000 --> 00:31:58,520 Speaker 2: You know, dismissing Texas Rangers is not an act of justice. 522 00:31:59,360 --> 00:32:02,080 Speaker 2: When you don't the prosecutions, it means that many of 523 00:32:02,120 --> 00:32:06,120 Speaker 2: them also rejoin law enforcement and other capacities. Some of 524 00:32:06,120 --> 00:32:11,720 Speaker 2: them become federal officers. They become US Immigration Customs Inspection agents, 525 00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:15,480 Speaker 2: some of them become prison guards. Some of them go 526 00:32:15,600 --> 00:32:17,560 Speaker 2: on to be in the Border Patrol. 527 00:32:18,080 --> 00:32:20,520 Speaker 8: The Border Patrol, by the way, was founded in nineteen 528 00:32:20,560 --> 00:32:24,120 Speaker 8: twenty four, just five years after this investigation, and it 529 00:32:24,160 --> 00:32:26,840 Speaker 8: came out of a section of a congressional bill pushed 530 00:32:26,840 --> 00:32:30,600 Speaker 8: for by none other than Claude Hudsmith, the guy from 531 00:32:30,640 --> 00:32:41,200 Speaker 8: the investigation who called Mexicans murders and rapists. And Monique 532 00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:44,560 Speaker 8: says the investigation left another legacy too. 533 00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:48,240 Speaker 2: What you really saw was that there was a media 534 00:32:48,320 --> 00:32:52,480 Speaker 2: and pr machine that was being animated by politicians, by 535 00:32:52,480 --> 00:32:56,520 Speaker 2: Texas rangers to cast the border as a dangerous place 536 00:32:57,240 --> 00:33:00,040 Speaker 2: and to justify state vile. 537 00:33:01,920 --> 00:33:07,520 Speaker 8: A place in crisis and full of others. That image 538 00:33:07,560 --> 00:33:10,080 Speaker 8: that the state lawyers and the Anglo ranchers and the 539 00:33:10,160 --> 00:33:14,160 Speaker 8: rangers painted of the US Mexico border, it's stuck. 540 00:33:15,320 --> 00:33:19,240 Speaker 2: That's something that actively goes on today, the separations of families, 541 00:33:19,600 --> 00:33:24,400 Speaker 2: people being denied their legal rights to claim asylum. There's 542 00:33:24,440 --> 00:33:28,440 Speaker 2: an active effort to portray people, racialize them in a 543 00:33:28,480 --> 00:33:32,400 Speaker 2: way that denies them any sort of public sympathy and 544 00:33:32,560 --> 00:33:37,160 Speaker 2: instead sanctions publicly the kinds of brutality that we're seeing 545 00:33:37,160 --> 00:33:38,600 Speaker 2: on the border today. 546 00:33:39,360 --> 00:33:42,880 Speaker 8: And so this idea of the border as this violent, 547 00:33:43,080 --> 00:33:46,280 Speaker 8: lawless place where law enforcement doesn't have to follow the 548 00:33:46,320 --> 00:33:49,480 Speaker 8: same rules as they do elsewhere, that's not something new. 549 00:33:50,200 --> 00:33:52,600 Speaker 8: It's over one hundred years in the making. 550 00:34:01,600 --> 00:34:07,160 Speaker 1: Our thanks to Liza Jaeger for that story. Special thanks 551 00:34:07,200 --> 00:34:11,360 Speaker 1: to historians Monica Munjos Martinez and Richard rib rib is 552 00:34:11,400 --> 00:34:14,360 Speaker 1: currently working on a book titled Shame and Disgrace to 553 00:34:14,440 --> 00:34:17,480 Speaker 1: My Native State, J T. Canales and the Quest to 554 00:34:17,560 --> 00:34:21,440 Speaker 1: Reform the Texas Rangers. It comes out in twenty twenty two. 555 00:34:21,560 --> 00:34:25,200 Speaker 1: And special thanks to our voice actors Marlon Bishop, Brandon Gomez, 556 00:34:25,440 --> 00:34:29,800 Speaker 1: J g Lilly, Tim Lopez, Raoul Perez, and Brian Pickett. 557 00:34:43,719 --> 00:34:46,920 Speaker 1: This episode was produced by Liza Jaeger and edited by 558 00:34:46,960 --> 00:34:51,280 Speaker 1: Sophia Plisa Kav. The Latino USA team includes Niel Massias, 559 00:34:51,480 --> 00:34:56,320 Speaker 1: Luis Trees, Antonia Serejido, Jane Yaboca, Gini mob Alises carced 560 00:34:56,400 --> 00:35:00,840 Speaker 1: and Alexandra Salasad. Fact checking by Amy Trdiff. Our engineers 561 00:35:00,840 --> 00:35:04,359 Speaker 1: are Stephanie Lebou and Julia Caruso. Additional engineering this week 562 00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:07,200 Speaker 1: by Leah Shaw. Our director of programming and Operations is 563 00:35:07,239 --> 00:35:11,000 Speaker 1: Natalia Fidehotz. Our digital editor is Amandel Candra. Our New 564 00:35:11,080 --> 00:35:14,640 Speaker 1: York Wins Foundation Ignite fellow is Julia Rocha. Our interns 565 00:35:14,680 --> 00:35:18,040 Speaker 1: are Sophia Sanchez and Marie Mendosa. Our theme music was 566 00:35:18,080 --> 00:35:20,640 Speaker 1: composed by Zanier Robinos. If you like the music you 567 00:35:20,680 --> 00:35:23,440 Speaker 1: heard on this episode, stop i Lettinousa dot org and 568 00:35:23,520 --> 00:35:26,440 Speaker 1: check out our weekly Spotify playlist. I'm your host and 569 00:35:26,480 --> 00:35:29,480 Speaker 1: executive producer Maria no Posa. Join us again on our 570 00:35:29,480 --> 00:35:31,960 Speaker 1: next episode, and in the meantime, look for us on 571 00:35:32,040 --> 00:35:33,160 Speaker 1: all of your social media. 572 00:35:33,320 --> 00:35:35,120 Speaker 10: Astella Proxima Cchao. 573 00:35:38,640 --> 00:35:41,840 Speaker 8: Latino USA is made possible in part by the John D. 574 00:35:42,080 --> 00:35:47,840 Speaker 8: And Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Heising Simons Foundation, Unlocking knowledge, 575 00:35:48,040 --> 00:35:54,960 Speaker 8: opportunity and possibilities more at hsfoundation dot org and the 576 00:35:54,960 --> 00:35:59,160 Speaker 8: Ford Foundation, working with visionaries on the frontlines of social 577 00:35:59,239 --> 00:36:00,360 Speaker 8: change world wide.