Our government went into Mexico, where the wounded criminal fled, and brought him back to our country giving him free medical care, cash money, and a promise of immunity as long as he would testify against these two border patrol agents.

He did. And they were convicted of covering up the shooting. They were marched off to prison, sentenced for many years. The drug smuggler, free as a bird, went on to smuggle more drugs across our border and continue to break the law, leaving the feds with a ton of egg on their faces.

For millions of Americans, the continued incarceration of Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos is a grim reminder of everything that has gone wrong with border security. And there is a fervent prayer in America that these men will have their sentences commuted by this good and decent man, George W. Bush.

For someone like me who has such admiration for a man like Bush, it took all I could muster to likely break protocols and procedures and ask him about this issue.

But I did.

I cannot tell you what the President said. I’ll respect the rules of that off-the-record conversation.

But it’s safe to say that the President is totally aware of their case. And at least one big-mouthed talk radio host named Gallagher bugged him about it during one of the final interviews of his presidency.

I’m hoping the President commutes their sentences. But whatever happens, I will nonetheless be forever grateful for the determined leadership the man gave his country.

As noted British historian Andrew Roberts noted this week, history will show that this was a good president, a man whose decisions and direction kept this country safe after 9/11.

And I look forward to the day when I can tell my granddaughter, Lily Denise, all about my visits with George W. Bush.