Ranchers Sued by Civil Rights Group

Associated Press ^ | Dec 10, 2003 | Arthur H. Rotstein

[AnimalLover]

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO PROPERTY RIGHTS?

A monastery official and a human rights advocacy group sued a southern Arizona ranch family Wednesday, accusing them of impersonating federal agents and violating the rights of undocumented immigrants.

Border Action Network, a human rights organization, and Donald J. Mackenzie, groundskeeper for and vice president of Summerland Monastery Inc., filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against Roger Barnett; his wife, Barbara, and his brother, incorrectly identified as Ralph. The lawsuit will be amended to correct the name Ralph to Donald, attorney Jesus Romo said.

The civil action accuses the Barnetts of conspiracy to interfere with the civil rights of immigrants and seeks preliminary and permanent injunctions against them.

Reached at the office of a towing company he operates in Sierra Vista, Barnett said he was unaware of the lawsuit and declined to comment.

For at least four years, the Barnetts have patrolled their 22,000-acre ranch about five miles north of Douglas, apprehending illegal immigrants crossing their property and turning them over to the U.S. Border Patrol.

Arizona has become a crossing point for hundreds of thousands of migrants annually, and the flood of undocumented people has drawn several armed civilian groups that act as self-appointed border watch organizations.

The groups have come under increasing fire recently. One member of Texas-based Ranch Rescue was arrested last month near Douglas on suspicion of felony flight to avoid prosecution, accused with another person of unlawfully detaining and beating a Salvadoran couple in Texas.

None of the civilian patrol groups was named in the lawsuit.

But Border Action Network announced during the summer that it hoped to sue on behalf of migrants allegedly victimized by organizations patrolling the border - with hopes of bankrupting them. Jennifer Allen, the network's director, called Wednesday's lawsuit a start.

"We have been working with border residents, ranchers, elected officials and with migrants to challenge the growth of the anti-immigrant movement along the Arizona-Mexico border," she said.

"The Barnetts and other vigilante groups have created an atmosphere of fear and intimidation for both migrants and community members."

She said many state and federal authorities have ignored border watch groups' activities.

Allen said Roger and Donald Barnett detained a group of 30 undocumented immigrants on Mackenzie's ranch.

Mackenzie said he initially thought Roger Barnett was a Border Patrol agent because of his weaponry and clothing, including a cap that said "U.S. Border Patrol."

Mackenzie said in talking with them, he discovered the Barnetts were not federal agents but did not challenge their presence or report them later. He said he never gave the Barnetts permission to enter the property.

Mackenzie said he got more concerned and angrier as he subsequently researched the issue.

"These vigilantes who have come into southern Arizona from out-of-state don't belong here," he said. "We don't need them here. The Rambo wannabes are not the kind of people that live in Arizona."

Allen and Romo said they did not have identities or statements from any of the 30 people allegedly involved in the Oct. 11 Summerland Monastery incident.

A spokesman for the Border Patrol said the agency does not disclose information on citizen calls that result in arrests.

__

On the Net:

Border Action Network: http://www.borderaction.org

[Cultural Jihad]

None whatsoever.

[rudy45]

Ignore my last post. It sounds like the Barnetts patrol their own ranch, then later went onto Mackenzie's property. I'm OK with the former, but have some reservations about the latter.

My question for those opposed to the patrols still stands: as long as the patrols stay on their own property, or on property to which they were invited, and as long as they stay within the law, what objections do you have?

[Porterville]

Is it radical to think the thoughts I think when I see articles like this???

[org.whodat]

False-imprisonment

Where does the so called false imprisonment come from?

[Cultural Jihad]

The article is unclear, but I read it to mean that the Barnetts own their own 22,000 acre ranch, but also trespass onto other people's property and commit felony false-imprisonments.

[rudy45]

Thanks for the reply. I take it then that you do support patrolling the borders, as long as the patrols stay within the law. What is the reason for using terms such as "knuckle dragging" and "goons"? They sound unnecessarily inflammatory.

[rudy45]

Scratch the second term, I'm sorry I was wrong about the use of the term "goon." But why use the term "knuckle dragging?"

[Cultural Jihad]

From the article: "Allen said Roger and Donald Barnett detained a group of 30 undocumented immigrants on Mackenzie's ranch." Detaining people without valid cause is false-imprisonment. The 'evidence' was probably having brown skin, and that constitutes a violation of their civil rights.

[rudy45]

Uh oh, now you have me thinking. Suppose the Barnetts are on their own property. Now they see a group of illegals on someone else's property. All of a sudden one person in the group of illegals starts attacking another person in the group.

Should the Barnetts respect private property and allow the attack to continue? Or should they trespass and stop the attack and protect the victim?

[rudy45]

Uh oh, now you have me thinking. Suppose the Barnetts are on their own property. Now they see a group of illegals on someone else's property. All of a sudden one person in the group of illegals starts attacking another person in the group.

Should the Barnetts respect private property and allow the attack to continue? Or should they trespass and stop the attack and protect the victim?

[M Kehoe]

No, I meant the knuckle-dragging part.

5.56mm

[scan58]

The Summerland Monastery should be charged, too. Transporting (or conspiracy to transport) illegal aliens.
Fat chance that will ever happen.

[Pitchfork]

What property owners do to prevent illegal trespassing on thier property is entirely their own business as long as they observe the laws of the state and treat the intruders properly (and humanely).

However, no one has yet addressed the issue of impersonating federal agents for which felony charges apply.

[Stopislamnow]

If Mr Mackenzie wishes his livestock stolen or killed for food, his women raped, and himself beaten and eventually murdered, thats his right. And more power to em.

They shouldn't have been on his land and if they were they were wrong.

"Allen said Roger and Donald Barnett detained a group of 30 undocumented immigrants on Mackenzie's ranch.

Mackenzie said he initially thought Roger Barnett was a Border Patrol agent because of his weaponry and clothing, including a cap that said "U.S. Border Patrol."

Mackenzie said in talking with them, he discovered the Barnetts were not federal agents but did not challenge their presence or report them later. He said he never gave the Barnetts permission to enter the property."

It's hearsay at this moment. We only have one side of the story.

For my part, I am going to give these people the benefit of the doubt, because they deserve it.

This looks like a fishing expedition by the Pro-illegals groups and this landowner. They've been bleating about going after the patrollers for months, maybe they found someone to play ball with em? Most of these groups have seen the trouble these pro-illegals have been stirring up and promising, I doubt, I could be wrong, that they would do something like this, and if they did, it was only trespassing to effect a citizens arrest.

Instead of automatically believing a pro-illegal agenda driven law-yer representing people who advocate the breaking of laws, try supporting someone who is defending our borders.

[Cultural Jihad]

I believe the laws in Arizona state that if you see a crime in progress in your neighbor's yard you do not need permission to effect a citizen's arrest on the neighbor's property. But the vigilantes did not witness a crime. They witnessed brown-skinned people. Having brown skin is not a crime in Arizona.

[herewego]

Ask them in for tea perhaps?

[Pitchfork]

Benefit of the doubt> About what? The Barnetts were on his land, they were armed, they have been doing this for years--what's in dispute? Simply because you agree with their political views you're willing to overlook felony offenses? So much for the 'rule of law'! Heck, let's just make you a magistrate and you can rule on offenders according to whether you like and agree with their beliefs and politics. Oh, wait, we had that once, it was called King George's colonial government!

[Cultural Jihad]

... it was only trespassing to effect a citizens arrest.

Needless to say, you have no idea what constitutes a lawful citizen's arrest in Arizona. One who belly-aches about illegal misdemeanor immigration should not be an advocate of felony false-imprisonment, nor for that matter of felony cold-blooded murder and conspiracy.

[Beck_isright]

Why write to Tom Ridge? He wants to legalize 12 million or so ILLEGALS soon. Just to clean up their paperwork and for no other reason.

[Pitchfork]

If anything that the monestary was doing was illegal then yes. IF they were taking money to transport them or if they knew about the movements and failed to report the illegal activity, then yes they should be prosecuted. However, we've yet to pass a law stating that owners of property on federal borders were required to enforce US immigration statutes.