PORT ANGELES — Since Border Patrol Agent Christian Sanchez spoke about the North Olympic Peninsula as a “black hole” with “no mission, no purpose” for the more than 40 agents stationed in Port Angeles, he seems to have dropped from sight.
He has not spoken publicly — and his attorneys said he does not want to be interviewed.
“Because of the treacherous, isolated environment in which Mr. Sanchez is working, for now, he will not be going beyond his testimony,” said Tom Devine, legal director for the Government Accountability Project, co-counsel for Sanchez with Port Townsend attorney Paul Richmond.
Richmond also has said Sanchez declines to be interviewed.
Sanchez, a Port Angeles resident, spoke out about the Border Patrol during a Government Accountability project panel discussion in Washington, D.C., on July 29.
When Sanchez complained to his superiors, he was tailed by undercover officers and lost his chaplain’s status, he said.
For its part, the Border Patrol has kept a tight lid on any comments on Sanchez’s allegations.
“We’ve been told from highest levels that we are not allowed to talk about this whole thing,” Rafael Cano, field operations supervisor for the Border Patrol office in Port Angeles, on Wednesday.
His allegations were forwarded to the federal Joint Intake Center, which will in turn refer the charges to a federal investigative agency, said Richard Sinks, the spokesman for the Blaine sector of the Border Patrol, an area that includes the North Olympic Peninsula.
Has Sanchez continued at the Port Angeles office? Neither his attorneys nor the Border Patrol would answer that question last week.
“We cannot discuss Mr. Sanchez’s employment status,” said Cano after he addressed the Forks City Council on Monday.
“I can only tell you that what’s been provided in the media is what you guys are aware of already,” he said.
“I cannot discuss it because all of it is under investigation.”
Cano added that “Blaine Sector and CBP nationwide will address, immediately, any allegations of misconduct by any of our agents.
“We will address them accordingly and swiftly,” he said.
