Posted on 08/09/2003 12:13:28 PM PDT by GoRepGo
Illegals held at gunpoint discuss ordeal
By Louie Villalobos Aug 9, 2003
SAN LUIS RIO COLORADO, Son. — The two female illegal immigrants who authorities said were detained at gunpoint by three American citizens a week ago said they initially thought the men were U.S. Border Patrol agents.
But when two of the men pointed guns at them and the three boys traveling with them, Lorena Ocampo said she knew something was wrong.
"(The Border Patrol) doesn't do that to women and children," she said.
More than a week after the incident, Ocampo, 26, her friend Guadalupe Lopez Rodriguez, 31, and the three boys were sent back to Mexico under the agreement that they would return at a later date to testify against Matthew Hoffman, 23, and Alexander Dumas, 26.
The men are each facing six counts of aggravated assault and five counts of unlawful imprisonment and one count of conspiracy to commit unlawful imprisonment, after the Yuma County Sheriff's Office said they handcuffed the group of illegal immigrants and held them at gunpoint until Border Patrol agents arrived.
Authorities said a third man, Martin Hoffman Jr., was with the two suspects but isn't facing charges because he was unarmed and didn't take part in the detention of the illegal immigrants.
Bond for Hoffman and Dumas was recently set at $68,000 and $88,000, respectively. The incident remains under investigation.
Both officials and the women said the incident began just after 1 a.m., a few minutes after the group entered illegally through the Colorado River at County 18th Street.
Rodriguez said they were traveling with a larger group that included the two women's husbands, but the smugglers decided to split everyone up to allow the children to cross at a shallow part of the river. The women said they wanted to go with their children.
"It wasn't that deep," Ocampo said of the river. "The kids crossed easily."
Minutes after crossing, the women said they heard a noise and were told to duck down behind some bushes by the 16-year-old smuggler who was guiding them. After waiting for a while, they decided it was safe to continue, Ocampo said.
"Then these men came out," she said. "I don't know where they came from."
The men started yelling directions in English and motioning the group to get on the ground, Ocampo said. At first, because one was wearing military-style clothes and they all hand handcuffs, the women thought they had been caught by agents and told their boys not to worry.
But when the guns were pointed at them, Ocampo knew the men weren't agents.
"We were all scared," she said. "We didn't know what they were yelling."
After Ocampo said the men handcuffed the women, the smuggler and two of the boys, a helicopter — which belonged to the Border Patrol — arrived at the scene and the men began to flag it down with a flashlight.
Soon after that, the women said agents arrived, uncuffed the group and put them in the back of their vehicles.
"(The agents) told us what those men did was against the law," Ocampo said.
After being taken to the Border Patrol's station house and being questioned about the incident, the women said they were kept in an area hotel and eventually given the option of staying in the United States until it was time for them to testify against the suspects.
Ocampo said they decided to return to Mexico because they are still scared that something will happen to them. She said the group will most likely not try another illegal entry into the United States because of the incident. Their husbands were caught and deported, Ocampo said.
She said they were headed to New York, where they planned to live with family members, get a job and put their children into public school.
Ocampo did promise to return when it came time to testify, though, saying she wants to make sure Hoffman and Dumas are punished.
"What they did was wrong," she said.
--- Louie Villalobos can be reached at lvillalobos@yumasun.com or 539-6858.
© Copyright, YumaSun.com
The three children who were held at gunpoint by Matthew Hoffman and Alexander Dumas sit in the back of a van waiting to be taken back to Mexico at the U.S. Port of Entry at San Luis, Ariz., Friday. Photo by Alfred J. Hernandez
My first thought is: what about this can our government not understand?
But then, I remember...they do understand it...and this is not the result they want. They want illegals here...both parties do.
Pointing guns at women and children, how disgusting.
As I stated earlier, the question is whether you believe that the Bible is the Word of God or not.
No, we no longer live in a republic, we live in a government approved, open border "free for all", one that caters and panders to criminals, while failing to represent the legal citizens, and failing to do it's constitutional duty and protect our borders and sovereignty.
A true republic would never allow it's country to be taken over by millions that are literally choking off our system, while President Bush and the Republican's and Democrats, sit by winking and nodding at this open attack on our borders and sovereignty.
Do you not understand what is happening?
"What they did was wrong," she said.
But crossing the border and invading a sovereign nation in direct violation of all it's immigration policies and laws is right?
I have no sympathy for illegal immigrants.
None.
And before one of you stinking bleeding heart liberal warm and fuzzy democrap bozos chime in with your "America needs the diversity." whiney crap, read it again.
I said illegal immigrants.
However (you knew there had to be a however) I have two points for you. First, addressing the hiring of illegals doesn't obviate the need to enforce our borders, particularly for those who live there and have to live with the violent criminal behavior that accomponies the flesh trade. There are hundreds of murders, robberies and rapes over the last couple of decades along the border attributable to the illegals. That doesn't count the vandalism and environmental destruction, nor the risks of "non-mexican" illegals, such as Iraqis or Suadis, who also exploit our lax border controls. The "vigilantes," as you choose to perjoratively label them, are closely allied with the indian nations of the border area because all of these people see their homes and way of life being destroyed by people who don't give a damn about anyone or anything.
My second point is that if you would give advice to the people you criticize about needing to come to your place of employment, I would ask why you haven't reported the illegal activity that you know is going on? If you have reported them and nothing was done then what is your answer to those who say that the law is broken or unenforced? It's not up to "them," whoever they may be. It's up to us. That's you and me. If you know of illegals being employed at your work site then you should call the INS. If you have reported it and those reports are ignored then it's up to you to publicize that fact. FOX News and CNN would probably both jump at such a juicy story. That's what being a citzen in a republic is all about.
Now, me, I see being an American as being a borderline anarchist. We are a nation of rogues, or, to take something from my own Scottish heritage, a nation of rievers (look it up, it's kinda fun). I love Newt Gingrich's description of the speed limit as observed in Germany and the US. In Germany, if they passed a strict speed limit on the Autobahn then all Germans would abide by it, but would then vote in the "no speed limit party" at the next election. In America we view a speed limit as a "benchmark of opportunity." I love the phrase.
Bottom line, I agree with the principle that unchecked vigilantes are as much a threat as the law breakers, but I firmly believe that, proprely supervised, citzen's have the responsibility to enforce the laws of our society. Otherwise we either lose (read that as die) or we turn into a police state.
I actually have a great affection for those that have braved the dangers of crossing the border to make their way here. If they are able to get through the hurdles involved then they've proved to me that they are the kind of folks we want here. That affection is tempered by the recent phenomenon of La Raza's movement "La Reconquista." These avowed marxists and racists wish to overwhelm the American's (of all ethnic backgrounds) in the US southwest and turn those states, including California, Arizona and New Mexico, into the northern part of "America del Norte." The rest of this marxist workers paradise is the northern provinces of Mexico (which isn't socialist enough for them). That movement puts the whole question in a whole different light. I want people to come here who want to be Americans. I want to defeat people who want to come here and take over and kick everyone else (including you and me) out, or kill us. It's really come down to that.
I remember from my college days that this problem is not new.
Mexicans were crossing into the US without papers since the beginning of our mutual border. Checkpoints were not introduced in the US-Mexican border until the 1920s, IIRC.
Furthermore, Mexican nationals were excluded from immigration quotas in the Immigration Restriction Act of 1924, meaning that while European countries could send only so many immigrants, Mexicans had unlimited access to US visas.
In the 1940s through the 1960s, we had the guest worker programs, and even the Mexican government tried unsuccessfully to pressure Congress to punish American employers using illegal Mexican laborers (non guest workers) to no avail. (The Mexican government thought that legal guest workers were better paid than illegal workers)
Now we’re back at square one. We have a demand for Mexican labor, US employers do not get punished for using illegal workers, and history repeats itself.
We certainly need to take control of our borders, but using border enforcement as the only mechanism seems inadequate. We need to have a comprehensive immigration overhaul, and the business community needs to be part of the solution.
You're so wrong
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