Navarro says patrol groups 'threatening;' Spencer, Simcox deny allegation

Sierra Vista (Arizona) Herald/Review ^ | 5/25/03 | Bill Hess

[Tancredo Fan]

Navarro says patrol groups 'threatening;' Spencer, Simcox deny allegation

BY BILL HESS

Sierra Vista (Arizona) Herald/Review -- 5/25/03

DOUGLAS -- Armando Navarro, an outspoken critic of what he calls vigilantes and militias, said two Arizona groups and one from Texas "are threatening our people, the Mexicanos."

He identified the Arizona groups as the American Border Patrol headed by Glenn Spencer and the Citizens Border Patrol Militia organized by Chris Simcox. The Texas organization is Ranch Rescue founded by Jack Foote.

The leaders of two of those groups said Saturday that they aren't threatening Mexicans or anyone else crossing the border illegally, but they are providing information to federal law enforcement agencies so the government can take action.

On Saturday, Navarro warned that the border could erupt into violence if action is not taken to stop Spencer, Simcox and Foote.

Saying he knows people and groups in Mexico who will not hesitate to take up arms against vigilantes and militias, Navarro said the time to eliminate violence along the border is becoming shorter.

However, Navarro denied that he intended to have a confrontation with Spencer or any of the civilian patrol groups this weekend. He said he wanted to have a dialogue with Spencer. However, in a press release from the National Alliance for Human Rights, the subject was "Latino delegation travels to Arizona to confront militia activity."

"I rather would call it a cross-fertilization of information," Navarro said as he sat in the lobby of the Gadsden Hotel. "I basically want to obtain information from him (Spencer) and give him information. We need to learn form each other."

While Spencer said Saturday that he would rather not meet with Navarro, "if he called I would talk to him."

Spencer said Navarro, a political scientist at the University of California Riverside's department of ethnic studies, "is straightening up his organization under the guise of attacking us."

Spencer added that Navarro and his supporters twist the facts of what groups such as the American Border Patrol are doing, inciting people against Spencer by calling him a racist and anti-Mexican. The American Border Patrol is based in Sierra Vista.

Spencer's and Navarro's paths crossed in California, where another of Spencer's organizations -- the American Patrol -- was established.

Navarro and his supporters are now coming to Arizona to continue the battle without obtaining the real facts and without getting their hands dirty, leaving the actions to others, Spencer said.

"They want to be gladiators without going into the coliseum," he said.

Simcox said Saturday that the actual name of his group is Civil Homeland Defense, which is based in Tombstone. He said he debated Navarro in the past, and sees no problem with what Civil Homeland Defense is doing.

"We have not broken any law, and there have been no complaints," Simcox said.

He described his organization as a neighborhood watch group, which in the process of looking for illegal immigrants has "saved quite a few of their lives."

Navarro said he was in Southern Arizona in 2000 on an initial fact-finding mission. His trip that began Thursday in Phoenix is to help establish a network of groups, which he said is ineffectual in making a united stand against the anti-immigration organizations.

In the press release, Navarro said the organizations such as Spencer's, Simcox's and Foote's are armed terrorists.

During the interview in the hotel lobby, he said the United States is on the look out for international terrorists but is doing nothing about the terrorists on the United States side of the border.

Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever said he has not had problems with any civilian patrol organizations. He added that the group being developed by Navarro will polarize the border even further.

"There will be some kind of violent confrontation," the county sheriff said.

Although the extremes of both sides are problems, the sheriff said the groups will not get any trouble from his department as long as they stay within the law and only do things that are legal.

If any person or organization makes a criminal action, Dever said he will act, as per his constitutional responsibilities.

Douglas Mayor Ray Borane, who is not a supporter of Spencer, Simcox or Foote, said he cannot support the actions of Navarro either. Both sides are too volatile and use inaccurate information to build up support and "their rhetoric is doing harm," he said.

The possibility the situation will get out of hand cannot be underestimated, the Douglas mayor said. "It is explosive."

Borane said the U.S. and Mexican governments' inaction is to blame for the creation of citizen patrols and their adversaries.

Felipe Aguirre, who came from California as a representative of Pro Uno, a group he described as a self-help organization for immigrants, said that what has to be stopped are the people dying in the deserts.

He and others, including Borane, call for a new guest-worker program, to allow Mexican workers into the United States legally.

"We have to find a humane way to bring in people legally, not illegally," Aguirre said.

Criminals on both sides of the border entice individuals seeking employment and a better way of life to illegally enter the United States, which is the cause of the problems, he said.

"The United States has always seen Mexico as a source of cheap labor," he said.

Navarro said there is a lack of cohesion among Hispanic leaders, especially those in Congress, when addressing the immigration problem. Recently elected U.S. Rep. Ral Grijalva, D-Ariz., whose district includes a large part of the border, has given some help, Navarro said. Unfortunately, Grijalva "is like Moses in the wilderness and no one is listening to him," Navarro said.

As for the goal of Mexicans to take back the Southwest, as Spencer says, it is the real reason for the migration, Navarro said.

"If the country (the United States) denies us, we have to consider all options," he said.

One of the options is what Spencer has been talking about -- the return of the Southwest to Mexico, Navarro said. In the next quarter of a century, demographics and other political factors will determine what happens, he said.

SENIOR REPORTER Bill Hess can be reached at 458-9440 Ext. 115 or by e-mail at bill.hess@svherald.com.

[txdoda]

It is amazing that our politicians will not enforce the law on this illegal immigration crime wave that is going on.>>>>>>>

Yes, something's bad wrong when our politicians get to pick
and choose WHICH of our laws they want to enforce.

Millions of illegals in the country, means there's also
millions of employers illegally letting them work.

[Spiff]

More Info:

I went to the University of California - Riverside's Department of Ethnic Studies website to look for more info about Armando Navarro who is an associate professor at UCR. I'm still looking around but I found a link to Barrio Warriors in the list of "Related Sites". I went to the site and found some interesting things.

Barrio Warriors claims to pattern themselves after Zapata and the Zapatistas. They reject "colonization" of the South West United States by the "Yanquis" and they reject the principal tool of colonization which is "capitalism".

A quote:

Our subscription to warriorship philosophy was key to our organization. Aztlan is the undisputed homeland of Chicanos, and being that we believe the heart of Aztlan lies in the Barrios thus Barrio Warriors de Aztlan was born.

They have a magazine called "We are all The Race (Todos Somos Raza)" See their disturbing Mission Statement and their Manifesto.

A few photos of these "warriors" which Navarro and his department at UC Riverside think are "related" to them:

The Barrio Warriors links include the "Brown Pride Webring", "Aztlan Underground", and others. It's a cesspool of racist crap that can be flung at seditious idiots like Navarro, Garcia, and others who try to call us racist because we want border laws to be enforced.

They even have their own rap groups - check these lyrics and these too. Lovely, eh?

[Bernard Marx]

if enough people do it, they might listen.

That's all I had in mind -- I wasn't being critical of you. With the clear examples of Germany and France, whose welfare states are supported (and now being consumed by) "guest workers," why in the world are American politicians allowing the same thing to happen here? One of the reasons "Iraq" Chirac is being such a royal pain is that he's trying to pacify Muslim "Frenchmen" brought in from the former colonies to work while French socialists vacation in Provence, the Riviera, or with their German friends in Yosemite and Yellowstone. While they play, the political mechanisms of their countries have been taken over by their "guests."

[liberalnot]

i lived here in 1994 and voted for prop. 187.

it was a liberal, feminist judge, as i recall, and i can't remember her name at the moment, that eliminated key aspects of 187.

the mexican consulate guided mexican high school teachers in protesting 187. there were mass demonstrations all over, especially los angeles county, which now is 2/3 mexican, roughly 6 of the 9 millions who inhabit los angeles county.

in san diego county, mexican high school students marched, and in one case burned an american flag. an american veteran saw this, and grabbed the flag to put out the flames, but he got beat up pretty badly by the large number of mexican kids. meanwhile, the san diego county sheriffs, standing nearby, watched, but did not intervene.

in one decade things have changed dramatically. the majority of these high school students are now working adults, married with children, and of course, taxpayers. now they identify as american and would vote for a new 187 bill. why? because they too pay taxes and have grown up. they are no longer captive of peer pressures and high school teachers. the majority of them identify as american, and want nothing to do with mexico, which they view as hopelessly corrupt.

it is common among american mexicans to view illegal immigration as a problem.

as with many things in life--it's a series of greys, not everything is black and white.

[Tancredo Fan]

That looks like Rep. Grijalva's staff!

[TLI]

I was having a lot of problems getting their web sight to load, I guess they upped their allowable limit to 25 hits per day.... < /kidding >

GENUINE PILLARS OF SOCIETY!

Give them 5 years and they will be dressed even more alike.... prison clothes!

[janetgreen]

Mariana Pfaelzer (not sure is spelling is correct) was the one who trashed Prop 187 as "unconstitutional". She thought she knew more than the majority of Californians did, and our votes meant nothing to her. Gray Davis could have revived it, but he also turned his back on the majority of his "subjects".

[liberalnot]

el correcto, senora!

she really p*ssed me off at the time because i felt it was an example of the courts interferring with an election.

[janetgreen]

why in the world are American politicians allowing the same thing to happen here?

The most frequent answer to this question is that they're trying to destroy America from within, create a controllable population who will keep them in power. I still can't believe that, it's unfathomable to me. Are we on the road to totalitarianism?

[liberalnot]

don't characterize the whole of mexicans by these radicals.

they are few.

they are disliked by working mexicans, who own homes, and suv's, and like the american dream.

[janetgreen]

The guy in the front, in the striped shirt, is SO typical of what we see on every street corner in southern California. Wannabe macho arrogant twerp, probably packing a gun.

[Tancredo Fan]

Yes, good old looney liberal judge Mariana Phaelzer.... hand-picked by the despicable pack of Ford Foundation lackeys known as MALDEF with a history of legislating from the bench. Then when it came time to send Prop. 187 to the Supreme Court, Davis met with Ernesto Zedillo, then president of Mexico, and quashed the whole deal.... thumbing his nose at millions of California voters.

California Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamante, a former member of an anti-American group called MEChA, got into it with Davis before the whole thing went down the tubes. That creep wanted Davis just to kill the thing outright when Davis wanted do it the the sneaky way.

[janetgreen]

Dim Davis worships at the alter of the Mexican lobby, that's why he got re-elected. We're outnumbered now.

[Spiff]

don't characterize the whole of mexicans by these radicals. they are few. they are disliked by working mexicans, who own homes, and suv's, and like the american dream.

I know - I know! We all know because you keep repeating it. No one here is characterizing all Americans of Mexican descent (they are not Mexicans, nor Mexican Americans - they are Americans). In case you've missed the point we're talking about Navarro and his reconquista cult who seek to overthrow the government and "reconquer" the South West United States.

I know good Mexicans who are good Americans who actually loathe the illegals. However, you can't name a single major Mexican/Hispanic organization that isn't toeing the Navarro line. Try it. Name one. Your point would be more credible if you could.

[judgeandjury]

Mariana Pfaelzer (not sure is spelling is correct) was the one who trashed Prop 187 as "unconstitutional".

But then California turns around and gives illegal aliens the right to attend college at in-state tuition rates, which should be unconstitutional based on the same reasoning used to gut Prop. 187. Now, California's legislators are debating whether to give driver's licenses to illegal aliens, which should also be unconstitutional based on the same reasoning used to gut Prop. 187. If immigration, and all issues related to immigration, is solely a federal matter, then states shouldn't be allowed to pass laws to reward somebody who can be identified as an illegal alien. This mess absolutely needs to be cleared up by the U.S. Supreme Court.

[PuNcH]

If these immigrants wanted things to be like in Mexico, they would have never come up here to begin with.

That is not how leftists think. They think that by taking space that has prosperity that they will somehow keep that prosperity. What we have now in America would all be theirs if we hadnt taken it from them.

[Tancredo Fan]

If these immigrants wanted things to be like in Mexico, they would have never come up here to begin with.

Uh, HELLO!

South Gate: Mexico Comes to California -- How an all-American town became a barrio

[janetgreen]

Santa Ana is a prime example. At least 90% Mexican, legal and illegal resides there. El Monte, same. Wilmington, Lawndale, Anaheim, most of L.A. I could name more.

The illegal aliens have put many Americans out of work in numerous industries. Gay Davis won't even mention that illegal immigration is a prime reason for hospital closings, the need for hundreds of new schools, overburdened Medicaid, overflowing prisons, etc. Not a word. He'll raise our taxes, though.

[janetgreen]

This mess absolutely needs to be cleared up by the U.S. Supreme Court.

I agree with you. The pro-illegal alien California "legislators" take matters into their own hands, they don't give a damn what the voters want. We're not given a choice in the matter. We read about one outrage after another coming down here, all in favor of unlimited illegal immigration.

We can't turn to our Senators (Feinstein & Boxer) because they don't care. The Governor definitely doesn't care, even though California is going broke. There is one Representative (Dana Rohrbacher) who co-sponsors legislation (along with Tancredo), but he is a voice in the wilderness here in invaded California. I think I'll write him with your suggestion of bringing it to the Supreme Court, and if I get an answer from him I'll post it. Thank you.

[liberalnot]

because some of you pound this issue into the ground, like the xn's who hate homo's.

i wouldn't even attempt to name a radical org not associated with mr. bozo. because i know that the large foundations such as the ford foundation, the rockefeller foundation, etc. fund them, an interesting topic.

a more practical exercise would be for you to research and change these foundations' practices.