EL PASO, Texas -- Many saw the conviction and subsequent prison sentence of former Border Patrol agents Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos as a gross injustice, but Tuesday's early release of the two men to many was seen as the injustice.

“It's a wonderful day for the families. The ordeal is far from over for them. There is still a lot that needs to be done,” said TJ Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council.

Bonner reacted with the same sentiment held by thousands of people across the Borderland and the country.

Many saw the convictions and sentences of Ramos and Compean as a major injustice. Many couldn’t believe that the word of a suspected drug dealer would be taken seriously.

However, Ouisa Davis, a local immigration attorney, sees the men’s commutations differently.

"They were sentenced to prison, as they should have been, as any low-level offender who was prosecuted under the same statute and had a weapon involved would be," Davis said.

The commutation, Davis said, was simply wrong.

"It was a slap in the face to law enforcement officers that do their job the right way,” Davis said. “It was a slap in the face to Congress that put in there this mandatory sentence; it was a slap in the face to every low-level offender."

Before the commutation, Davis said, she was happy to see the Justice Department finally standing up to law enforcement officers who act improperly, but that now the message has been erased.

“You can tell there is an outpouring of support from their families, but they are no different than many people who do stupid things and have to go away,” Davis said. “They are no different; they should be treated no differently."

But former President George W. Bush, members of Congress and other law enforcement didn’t see it that way, and it seems the legal process isn’t over for Compean and Ramos.

“Clear their good names and to punish the people who wrongfully put them in prison,” Bonner said.