Reserve Sergeant Patrick Haab joins us now for an exclusive interview, along with his attorney, David Cantor. Welcome to you both.
Patrick, why do you suspect Mexico might be coming after you if the United States decided not to press charges?
RESERVE SGT. PATRICK HAAB, DETAINED SEVEN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS: Well, they obviously just don't have the facts in the case here. And just resorting to desperate measures.
COLMES: You were not prosecuted, right? Should the illegal immigrants, though, who you stopped have been prosecuted? As I understand it, they were also not prosecuted.
HAAB: I'm not too sure on that, whatever happened there.
COLMES: Mr. Cantor, can you comment on that?
DAVID CANTOR, ATTORNEY: I think they're being held under material witness warrants, because they still think they need them to testify against the coyote, or the human smuggler. So I believe they still are subject to prosecution once that runs its course.
COLMES: As I understand it, they were not prosecuting, Patrick, because citizens can make arrests when felonies are committed. But when you saw them, you didn't know that they were committing a felony. You didn't know if they were legal at the time or what was going on. So I don't understand how they made that decision given that you had no idea that there was a felony being committed at that time.
HAAB: Well, that was just one of the reasons that the attorney general had given. I mean, it started out as just a self-defense. And that — that pretty much gave me the right to make a itizen's arrest right there.
COLMES: In terms of Mexico going forward, I understand you acknowledged that — you wrote in an email to supporters, according to The Arizona Republic, expressing an alarm that undocumented border crosses are transferring the United States — or transforming it into "Americo." And some people took that to be a not particularly complimentary comment.
Do you think that might have something to do with it?
HAAB: I guess I don't really care. I'm not racial — I'm not racist or anything, but illegal aliens crossing the border has to be an issue to be brought up here.
HANNITY: Patrick, just to remind people, they rushed you. They were in the country illegally. And one of the things I want to establish is are they subject to prosecution? Are they subject to being sent back to Mexico? It seems to me that that's not resolved at this point. I'm frankly bewildered by that.
HAAB: Yes. It's pretty amazing that they're still here and enjoying the U.S. lifestyle.
HANNITY: Well, here's the problem. Mexico is a government, the same government that gives instructions to people on how to enter this country illegally, what to do when they get here illegally. I mean, this is the government that does this.
We don't have an extradition agreement with Mexico. We have had the parents of law enforcement officials who were killed by people that are in Mexico now. The Mexican government is doing nothing to help bring these people to justice, even though they know where they are.
So why would we in any way allow them to go after you? I mean, you would want your government to protect you in every way, and you have every indication they will.
HAAB: Yes. I'd hope so.
HANNITY: Hope. Do we know for sure, and are you concerned at all about the government saying they're going to go after you?
CANTOR: Let me handle that. First of all, they have no basis to go after Patrick for any type of lawsuit. The key is they're illegal aliens. And once the word "illegal" comes into play, anybody can arrest them. Secondly...
HANNITY: According to Arizona law, by the way, that's true. Because citizens do have the right to make arrests. I want to make that clear to our audience.
CANTOR: Absolutely, and the Mexican government, I think they need to understand the term ally, and they need to pick their battles. This is not the battle they want to pick.
COLMES: Did he know they were illegal at the time, counselor? I think that's the question.
CANTOR: Well, once they rushed him, it didn't matter. There's six people rushing him out of the dark.
COLMES: All right. We — we'll be following the story. Thank you for being with us.
Sgt. Patrick Haab Ping