The family of a 23-year-old Texas man is pleading for help from officials to spring him from the Mexican prison where he's spent the last nine months on weapons charges.
According to April Thomas, she was on the phone with her son Caden Hawkins on March 2 as we was trying to drive home after a work assignment near the U.S. - Mexico border. Hawkins apparently got lost and ended up south of the border, which Thomas only realized when she heard the sound of men speaking Spanish coming through the receiver.
Hawkins filmed on his phone at the border crossing moments before he was handcuffed.
His family said they have since learned he was detained because he had a pistol and bullets in his possession when he arrived at the crossing. They said he had a license to carry the gun.
“This was something that, ‘Oh hey I messed up and get a ticket’, not a year in state prison in a different country,” Hawkins said during a phone call with his family.
Thomas said the situation has been devastating for the family.
“Please give me my baby back, he does not deserve this. My son is not a criminal; this was an honest accident,” Thomas said.
We've seen similar mistakes on the other side of the border, including an incident back in July when more than a dozen Mexican soldiers crossed the border and were discovered by two U.S. citizens who were looking for illegal immigrants who might have gotten lost in the deserts of southern New Mexico.
In that case the soldiers high-tailed it back to the border on their own, but in 2021 14 Mexican soldiers were briefly detained in El Paso, Texas, after they too inadvertently crossed the border. Instead of being prosecuted for illegally possessing guns they were processed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and then returned to Mexico.
The same thing arguably should have happened with Hawkins. Granted, given his civilian status, I can somewhat understand police detaining him for a brief period of time, but once it became clear that this was a simple mistake it would have been easy enough to send him back across the border, even if they kept ahold of his gun and ammo.
The family said they are calling on lawmakers and authorities to intervene on their behalf and bring home their son and fiancee, who has not been told when or if he can be set free.
“We need somebody that is more powerful than we are,” Thomas said.
The family said they have been trying to work with authorities in Mexico, but have had no luck so far.
Some lawmakers said they have heard of what is going on with Hawkins and are looking into it.
State Rep. Jay Dean of Longview posted a message on his Facebook page last week calling Texans to action.
“I’m determined to make sure this young man is home for Christmas and with us all working together - we will make it happen!” he said in part.
The news story doesn't say anything about the family contacting or working with the State Department, but that's where I'd be directing most of my efforts, along with my local congresscritter and Texas senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn. God bless those state legislators for taking an interest in Hawkins's plight, but I don't think there's much they can do other than reach out to federal officials as well.
Hawkins has already served nine months of his year-long sentence, so there's not much time for State to act. I'll echo Rep. Dean's call to action and urge you to contact the State Deparment, Cornyn and Cruz's offices, and even Gov. Greg Abbott as well. Here are the numbers Dean provided for Texans to get involved:
I'd focus on those first four phone numbers, but if you have the time and inclination to contact Paxton and Abbott too I don't think it will hurt Hawkins's chances of being released before serving the entirety of his sentence.
I hate to say it, but his plight is also a cautionary tale for any gun owner who lives, works, or travels near the U.S. - Mexico border. The Mexican government will give gun owners no quarter if they're caught with even a single round of ammunition south of the border. It doesn't matter how legal and lawful your gun ownership might be in the United States, in Mexico it's almost certain to result in a prison sentence. Be very careful when exercising your 2A rights near the border, because one wrong turn can turn your life into a nightmare.
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