Group slams border 'vigilante' groups; Decries militias as racist

Arizona has become a fertile ground for outside vigilantes who are using national security concerns as an excuse to push their racist and anti-immigrant agenda and break numerous state laws, a human rights group warns in a report to be released today.

"There's more than enough evidence, besides a moral imperative, to stop these groups," said Jennifer Allen, co-director of the Border Action Network. "People have already been killed, and it's only going to get worse."

The Tucson-based group will unveil the report at a news conference in Phoenix and deliver it to Gov.-elect Janet Napolitano. The group hopes she will be convinced to ask for state and federal investigations into the civilian organizations that have formed in the past two years.

The report comes in response to the increasing number of residents patrolling the border on their own, trying to stop illegal immigration. Two immigrants were killed in Red Rock, and eight have been found dead in the West Valley since June.

Authorities initially suspected vigilantes were responsible in both cases, but have since discarded the theory in the Red Rock investigation. None of the killings has been solved. Border Action Network was formed in 1999 as the Southwest Alliance to Resist Militarization, an informal grass-roots border issues watchdog. One of the 50-member group's main accomplishments was leading the effort this year to prevent construction of privately run prisons in Arizona meant to hold only illegal immigrants, Allen said.

The report says investigators should look into possible state land lease violations by border ranchers, illegal citizens' arrests, some involving physical attacks on immigrants being made on public roads, and the rash of migrant shootings. But the groups criticized in the report say they resent not only the allegations but also the "vigilante" label itself, saying it incorrectly and unfairly characterizes them as lawbreakers.

"We're not even enforcing laws, we're just there as a deterrent," said Rob Krott, who came to Arizona in October with Texas-based Ranch Rescue, which bills itself as a protector of private ranchers seeking help chasing migrants and drug runners from their property. "It's not about racism or vigilantism. It's about property rights," Krott said.

The Border Action Network report to be released today, titled "Hate or Heroism: Vigilantes on the Arizona-Mexico Border," accuses groups such as American Border Patrol in Sierra Vista, a high-tech outfit that tracks illegal border crossers, of being a local front for national White supremacist, neo-Nazi groups.

The report says such groups provide funding to local vigilante groups, but no specific amounts are given. Other cited in the report as vigilantes: Ranch Rescue; Civil Homeland Defense, a still-forming militia in Tombstone led by California native Chris Simcox, now owner of the local newspaper; and Roger and Donald Barnett, who for years have detained illegal border crossers on their Douglas ranch, which the report says is mostly land leased from the state.

The report relies on a four-month investigation conducted by the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center. Heidi Beirich, who did the investigation for the center, said that American Border Patrol's leader, Glenn Spencer, first established himself as a major player in anti-immigrant circles in California as founder of American Patrol/Voices of Citizens Together.

That organization earned the "hate group" label, Beirich said, while several others listed in the Border Action Network reportare being closely watched. "The only locals are the Barnetts. Everybody else seems to be an outsider, targeting Arizona as the ideal place for their racist agendas," Beirich said in an interview. Spencer said Tuesday he had not seen the report, but that he has heard similar criticisms before. He dismissed as lies the accusations that he has links to racist organizations. "Where's the evidence? All we do is go out and document what's going on at the border," he said.

He said he provides most of the funding for American Border Patrol, noting "a couple of foundations might help a little bit," but he declined to name them. Allen, who co-wrote the Border Action Network's report, said residents the organization interviewed in Cochise County oppose vigilantes, but they're just afraid to say it, fearing retaliation. The organization talked to about 150 people in the Douglas area.

The Cochise County Board of Supervisors last month passed a resolution discouraging vigilantism. Board Chairman Pat Call did an informal survey, and 80 of 100 respondents said they oppose civilian militias, county spokeswoman Karla Jensen said.

What race, I would say Hispanics, but the nomenclature changes quite often to avoid offending. Following is something I received by email:

The Style Guide To Writing A Sensitive Immigrant Story
Why is the media so utterly useless on immigration? This investigator has uncovered an interesting Publisher’s Memo.

The following guide is designed for you young and/or inexperienced writers on how to fashion an article about immigration that is acceptable to modern journalistic standards of diversity and multicultural values.

Management wishes that the newsroom speak in one voice about newcomers in America and how they contribute to our marvelous diversity which only adds to our strength. We have included examples to make it perfectly clear the tone we want. Standard phrases that may be used often are indicated within quotes.
This is not rocket science, people! Follow the approved boilerplate and you will do very well.
Rather than do factual articles that would inform (and possibly alarm) readers about exploding population growth and rapidly changing ethnicity, this paper stays above any divisive material that might be seen as anti-immigrant.
Giving ammunition to those who don't like the demographic transformation of America does not fit the business plan here at the PC Press.
While facts may be occasionally appropriate as background color, this newspaper is looking for human interest—that means drama, characters and emotions in play. Bring out the David and Goliath angle, particularly the hard-working immigrant up against the machinery of the Uncaring State.
Is the person illegal in some sort of dry, lawbook sense? Don't dwell on that insignificant detail, and be sure to use the term "undocumented" at all times. We are pro-immigrant at this paper and don't want anyone to forget it, particularly the new multicultural readers we are still trying to attract.
In writing about the "plight" of immigrants, it is important to choose your subject well. Find a personable immigrant family, preferably with a winsome child ("Rolando... with almond eyes and a mop of brown hair... one of the unintended victims of Sept. 11"). Use tragic anecdotes about the evil system crushing poor people "in search of a better life." Use plenty of quotes, particularly complaints about how unfairly they are treated by an America grown cold and heartless toward the millions streaming through its borders.
This slant makes the paper appear concerned with social justice issues. Emphasize the struggle and frustration. When there is a success, don't forget those "tears of joy." Imagine you are doing a promo for Save the Children.
One Seattle story began with a vignette of an immigrant mom staying home from work with sick kids and struck just the right note as it described how the little moppets "fought off fevers and struggled to keep down cups of chicken soup." Chicken soup! They weren't even Jewish! Come to think of it, what could be more universal than chicken soup? We all love chicken soup when we are sick.
Details about the kiddies transitioning in school—learning a few phrases of English, playing soccer, teaching bits of their language to new American friends—are another good element. Of course they want to become Americans, more or less, although as part of a multicultural salad with separate crunchy units rather than into an old-fashioned retro melting pot. (One insightful memo from the Publisher refers to assimilation as 'meltdown'—a little humor from the Big Guy!) Today's young people will be citizens of the world, so our paper should underline the new globalist sensibilities.
Adherence to the nation-state model is not how this company envisions the future.
Another topic that is always good for recycling is the increasing influence of Hispanic voters. If you have a penchant for Census figures and other numerics, an explanation of the expanding Latino voting bloc and the scramble of politicians for their votes is good. The fact that few new Hispanic citizens are interested in bothering to vote is irrelevant.
September 11 brought new challenges to the sensitive reporter. Above all, stories should not inspire anti-Muslim hatred, since it would be judgmental to note that Arabs living in America have not been enthusiastic in their denunciations of terrorism. They are probably just shy, and we shouldn't inspect their priorities in loyalty too closely. One approach would be to find an Arab still incarcerated without any civil rights and then probe victimhood psychology in a unique jailhouse setting.
Don't burden readers with annoying facts about how illegal aliens (remember to call them "the undocumented") might use up scarce resources like education and healthcare that old-fashioned nationalists feel should be used for America's own disadvantaged. Definitely employ remarks from the subjects about how they "work hard" and "pay taxes," but don't get into minutia about how those taxes don't completely cover the benefits received. It's too distracting from the emotional flow.
A word of warning: we don't want to see any controversial pieces about immigrants and crime. Even if immigrants do have a higher rate of crime than Americans, presumably they are just having a hard time adjusting to a new culture. It would be mean-spirited to mention the high rates of incarceration and would play into the hands of right-wing extremists who believe laws should be enforced. Let's just not go there.
Recently some of our editors have received complaints that our paper is ignoring unpleasant effects that so many millions of immigrants are having on our own local people. Management feels that such concerns are disturbingly selfish, what with many low-skilled jobs going undone. (Even with millions of immigrant workers, it is still hard to find a decent gardener or maid for under $5 per hour!) Furthermore, these are "jobs that Americans don't want." Just because they may pay considerably less than an American can live on is no excuse. Blue-collar Americans should just cozy up in their housing arrangements to save money if they really want to work.
People simply have to accommodate progress to get along.
Above all, this paper emphasizes that we are a "nation of immigrants" and we expect our news stories to reflect that ideology, regardless of facts.

recent email from Cong. Tom Tancredo

(snip)

The U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform, chaired by Barbara Jordan, the late Democratic Congresswoman and civil rights hero, recommended substantially reducing the number of immigrants admitted each year. The Jordan Commission proposed setting an immediate limit of about 450,000 per year, and then phasing down the level to about half that. Had Congress implemented the recommendations of the Jordan Commission in 1996, we would be well on our way to addressing the immigration-driven crisis in traffic, sprawl, schools, and jobs. Unfortunately, Congress failed and the crisis has gotten worse.
For the reasons mentioned above, I created and chair the Immigration Reform Caucus in Congress to evaluate and critique current immigration policy and offer new suggestions to combat the negative effects of immigration and highlight the benefits. As a direct descendant of Italian immigrants, it is my hope that Congress will take an objective look at immigration policy and include all angles to create new policies. It is clear that the United States is reaching its capacity to become a home for the world's immigrants. We must never forget that this nation was built on the backs of immigrants, but we must also seek to protect the interests of our nation and recognize that our nation's resources, both economically and ecologically, have limits. If we continue with current immigration policy we will jeopardize what this nation of immigrants has created.
Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me. I hope you will continue to inform me of your concerns. In the meantime, I urge you to visit my website at http://www.house.gov/tancredo where you can sign up for the Capitol Update, my weekly E-mail newsletter.
Sincerely,
Thomas Tancredo
Member of Congress

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