TUCSON, Ariz. – A U.S. Border Patrol agent who fired a shot across the U.S.-Mexico border, killing a teenager, wants a civil rights lawsuit against him dismissed on grounds that the boy was in Mexico and therefore wasn't protected by the U.S. constitution.
A federal judge will hear arguments on his lawyer's motion to dismiss Tuesday.
The case was filed in Tucson, Arizona, on behalf of Araceli Rodriguez, the mother of 16-year-old Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez. The teen was killed Oct. 10, 2012, while in Nogales, Sonora, near the border fence.
The Border Patrol has said Elena Rodriguez was among a group of people throwing rocks at agents. The teen's family says he was just walking home and the agent used excessive force.
The agent was on the Arizona side of the border, and his attorney says Elena Rodriguez is not constitutionally protected because he was a Mexican on the Mexico side.
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