'Minutemen' to Patrol Arizona Border

AP on Yahoo! ^ | February 21st, 2005 | Lara Jakes Jordan

[ajolympian2004]

By LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Intent on securing the vulnerable Arizona border from illegal immigrant crossings, U.S. officials are bracing for what they call a potential new threat this spring: the Minutemen. Nearly 500 volunteers have already joined the Minuteman Project, anointing themselves civilian border patrol agents determined to stop the immigration flow that routinely, and easily, seeps past federal authorities.

They plan to patrol a 40-mile stretch of the southeast Arizona border throughout April when the tide of immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border peaks.

"I felt the only way to get something done was to do it yourself," said Jim Gilchrist, a retired accountant and decorated Vietnam War veteran who is helping recruit Minutemen across the country.

"We've been repeatedly accused of being people who are taking the law into our own hands," said Gilchrist, 56, of Aliso Viejo, Calif. "That is an outright bogus statement. We are going down there to assist law enforcement."

Officials concede the 370-mile Arizona border is the most porous stretch on the U.S.-Mexico line. Moreover, recent intelligence show that al-Qaida terrorists are likely to enter the country through the Mexico border, James Loy, the deputy secretary of the Homeland Security Department, said last week.

"Several al-Qaida leaders believe operatives can pay their way into the country through Mexico, and also believe illegal entry is more advantageous than legal entry for operational security reasons," Loy said in written testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Of the 1.1 million illegal immigrants caught by the U.S. Border Patrol last year, 52 percent crossed into the country at the Arizona border. The agency increased the number of agents in the Tucson sector, which has its largest staff, from 1,700 to 2,100 over the last 18 months.

But that number is going to grow to try to plug the remaining holes, said Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Robert C. Bonner. About 10,000 federal agents now patrol the 2,000-mile southern border, he said.

Officials fear the Minuteman patrols could cause more trouble than they prevent. At least some of the volunteers plan to arm themselves during the 24-hour desert patrols. Many are untrained and have little or no experience in confronting illegal border crossings.

"Any time there are firearms and you're out in the middle of no-man's land in difficult terrain, it's a dangerous setting," said Bonner, whose agency is keeping a close eye on the Minutemen plans.

"The Border Patrol does this every day, and they are qualified and very well-trained to handle the situation," he said. "Ordinary Americans are not. So there's a danger that not just illegal migrants might get hurt, but that American citizens might get hurt in this situation."

Civilian patrols are nothing new along the southern border, where crossing the international line is sometimes as easy as stepping over a few rusty strands of barbed wire. But they usually are limited to small, informal groups, leaving organizers to believe the Minuteman Project is the largest of its kind on the southern border.

It may also prove to be a magnet for what Glenn Spencer, president of the private American Border Patrol, described as camouflage-wearing, weapons-toting hard-liners who might get a little carried away with their assignments.

"How are they going to keep the nutcases out of there? They can't control that," said Spencer, whose 40-volunteer group, based in Hereford, Ariz., has used unmanned aerial vehicles and other high-tech equipment to track and report the number of border crossings for more than two years.

"There's a storm gathering here on the border, and there are conditions ripe for some difficulty," he said.

The border agents agree.

The Minutemen "clearly have every reason to be upset with the federal government for abandoning them," said National Border Patrol Council president T.J. Bonner, no relation to the commissioner.

But "if anything goes wrong, God forbid, someone does injure an agent, this government is going to be turning both barrels on them and come after them with a vengeance," he said.

Gilchrist said the Minutemen are under strict orders to merely identify and follow illegal border crossers and alert federal agents. They should not interact with the immigrants except to offer food, water or medical care. If there's a couple of "bad apples" who turn up in the group, Gilchrist said, they will face prosecution if they step outside the law.

Something dramatic needed to be done to curb the years of crime, property damage and trash dumping caused by the border crossings, Gilchrist said.

"Things are out of control" he said. "And they've been out of control for decades."

[JustAnotherSavage]

I recall Ranch Rescue being called a racist, vigilante, criminal organization. Here's the latest on that.


Nethercott Acquitted - Surveillance video proves border patrol were aggressors
Tombstone Tumbleweed
http://www.tombstonetumbleweed.com/
Feb 23, 2005
Author: Chris Simcox


Nethercott Acquitted
Surveillance video proves border patrol were aggressors

By Chris Simcox
Tombstone Tumbleweed

Casey James Nethercott was acquitted in federal court Tuesday of charges he threatened to assault three U.S. Border Patrol agents after being harrassed by the agents on his own property which sits within yards of the Douglas Border Patrol headquarters. Nethercott at the time of his arrest on false charges of endangering the lives of federal law enforcement agents was the leader of the Arizona branch of Ranch Rescue, a self-appointed border watch militia. Nethercott has since started another pro-government militia named the Arizona Border Guard whose intent is to assist the Department of Homeland Security in sealing the out-of-control border with Mexico.

During a phone conversation on Wednesday morning, Nethercott said his next move would be to have his name cleared and motion to have his rights restored.

"This proves the federal government along with Border Patrol, the F.B.I. and everyone involved has conspired to paint anyone who demands our borders be secured as something they are not. Agent Witt (of the F.B.I.) is guilty of destroying evidence, but thanks to the Cochise County Sheriff's testimony we proved I did nothing wrong other than having an unpopular opinion of how our border should be controlled," said Nethercott.

The incident between Nethercott and Border Patrol occurred on Aug. 31 when Nethercott allegedly ignored attempts by Border Patrol agents to pull him over on an immigration stop as he returned to his home from Douglas.

During testimony it became clear agents knew the van belonged to Nethercott and proceeded to follow him in what federal prosecutor Maria Davila described as a slow speed pursuit. The prosecutor claimed Nethercott threatened and intimidated the agents who suspected Nethercott was involved in smuggling illegal aliens.

Public Defender Jason Hannon said the confrontation alleged by the Border Patrol agents never occurred. The threats claimed by the agents were shown to be nothing more than Nethercott calling and reporting to the Cochise County Sheriff's Department that armed agents were at his gate and he needed help to avoid a possible shootout with armed government agents entering his property illegally. The sheriff's department radio transmissions backed up Nethercott's story.

The incident started when, for reasons unknown, the agents targeted Nethercott's van in Douglas after receiving sensor information and a report that a group of illegal aliens had piled into a van. Border Patrol agents followed Nethercott's van, ran the license plate and verified the van belonged to Nethercott, well know to border agents as a member of Ranch Rescue. The agents attempted to stop Nethercott's van and followed it back to his ranch, located a short distance from the Douglas Border Patrol station.

Nethercott pulled through his gate; he and Riddle got out of the vehicle and closed the gate. Border Patrol agents got out of their vehicles and began shouting orders for Nethercott and Riddle to lie on the ground, even though they were on private property. Border Patrol agents pulled their weapons after seeing that Riddle was armed with a rifle, not illegal in Arizona.

The agents proceeded to come onto Nethercott's property with weapons drawn, even as Nethercott continued to identify himself and warn the agents they were trespassing. The agents instigated a confrontation that lasted until Cochise County deputies arrived at Nethercott's request and resolved the confrontation.

Within days after the incident a complaint was filed by Douglas Border Patrol Supervisor Hyatt with the F.B.I. contending that Nethercott had threatened to shoot federal agents.

Nethercott's attorney, Hannon said the critical testimony came when the Border Patrol reported they had a sensor hit indicating people had entered the country illegally.

"Instead of being down by the line to deter people from entering they sit up on the highway and they wait until they come in and load up in vehicles so they can get an apprehension and get their numbers up for administrative reasons, to get more money, more agents. In the meantime that undocumented immigrant has crossed someone's land, caused property damage, trashed the environment, and that is just not important to them. It's not important for the Border Patrol to deter crossings from the beginning; but isn't the idea to deter them and keep them in Mexico?" Hannon said.

Asked if he thought the Border Patrol agents who testified were guilty of perjury, Hannon replied, "Legally I don't think it is something that can be charged. The problem is, they say, 'My best recollection is that x happened,' but the jury picked up on that hesitation in the agents' testimony. The video tape entered as evidence was from a Border Patrol camera turned to watch the scene and ultimately proved that what the agents testified was a fraud. They (the Border Patrol) have used that camera to surveil Casey's property. The F.B.I. agent in charge of the case has done so himself personally to get intelligence on him and others and that's not the purpose the camera was meant to serve. We learned they used that camera all day on the day Kalen Riddle was shot in Douglas. They watched him as they prepared to arrest him as soon as he left the property. Riddle is still in horrible shape in Washington. We also learned that both Nethercott and Riddle were unarmed when Riddle was shot by the F.B.I. He's suing the F.B.I. you can bet," said Hannon.

Ironically it was the video tape from the Border Patrol camera that proved Nethercott's innocence.

Hannon said the situation was clearly a case of political harassment on the part of the U.S. Attorney and the Border Patrol.

"When it happened the F.B.I. got involved and were just licking their chops, you know-- 'Oh boy what can we do with this?' Regardless of whether you agree with Casey, or not, or Chris Simcox or any of the organizations or what they are doing, what I am appreciative of is that they are all pushing the envelope for our civil liberties. We still need people like that."