man arrest for detaining illegal immigrants

Yuma County sheriff's deputies have arrested a second man in connection with the alleged unlawful detention of six illegal immigrants on July 31 in Gadsden.

Alexander David Dumas, 26, was arrested Tuesday evening after driving to Yuma from his home in Big Bear Lake, Calif., for an interview, said sheriff's spokesman Lt. Eben Bratcher.

Dumas was charged with six counts of aggravated assault and five counts of unlawful imprisonment following the early morning July 31 incident where deputies said he and Matthew Paul Hoffman, arrested on the same charges on Monday, detained a group of six illegal immigrants that had just entered the United States through the Colorado River.

A third man, Martin Hoffman Jr., was with the two suspects but won't be charged because he was not armed and did not take part in the handcuffing of the illegal immigrants, Bratcher said.

Bratcher said the department will continue to investigate the case and warned citizens against taking the law into their own hands.

He said anyone who sees a group of suspected illegal immigrants should call the Border Patrol, and not take it upon themselves to apprehend the group by using guns and handcuffs. Asking a group to stay put while making a phone call is permitted and would constitute a citizen's arrest, he said.

"When you have someone holding someone against their will with the use or the threat of the use of force, you've crossed the line between a citizen's arrest and unlawful detention," he said. "There was no justification for the use of force."

Deputies said the two men handcuffed five members of the group, which included three children and two women, and held them at gunpoint until U.S. Border Patrol agents arrived.

Agents have said they were dispatched to the scene when a surveillance camera operator noticed the incident unfolding. The agents called the sheriff's department, who then identified and interviewed all three men before letting them go, officials said.

Bratcher said the men are not believed to be part of a larger group, such as the citizen patrol groups that operate on private property along the Tucson border and use various forms of technology to alert Border Patrol agents to the presence of illegal immigrants in the area.

Also being charged with five counts of endangerment is a 16-year-old Mexican national who Bratcher said was paid $600 to bring the illegal immigrants into the United States. Bratcher also said the illegal immigrants were planning to meet with a taxi cab in Gadsden and were to be taken to a unidentified Yuma hotel, according to interviews done of the illegal immigrants by detectives.

William Robbins, Border Patrol spokesman, said the six illegal immigrants were in the agency's custody as of Wednesday morning but couldn't be interviewed.

Hugo Oliva, Mexican consul in Yuma, said the group was in good condition following the incident and that his office is encouraged by the sheriff's department's efforts regarding this case.

"This is a very disturbing thing to happen here," Oliva said. "We can't have people with guns do the job of law enforcement agencies."

How do you plan to kill them, John O? Set up 50 cals at the border and mow them down the instant they set foot on US soil?

I'm really more in favor of anti-personnel mines in a fifty foot buffer zone starting at the border and progressing inward to the fence (of course we lose a fifty foot wide swath of land for the zone). This allows us to secure the border without a prohibitive investment in personnel. and insures that the only ones who die are the ones actually attacking the border.

Of course any of these plans would have to be publicised in Mexico and Canada to prevent the stupid from having an excuse. " I didn't know I couldn't cross here. Wah Wah"

Round 'em up & put them in gas chambers?

Too hard to do. It's better to stop the infestation at the source. Of course illegals should be deported immediately. No trials, no warning, no going back for family or possessions. If we catch you we escort you immediately to the border and push you across (access zones through the minefield will have to be guarded I'm afraid).

Those who are caught illegally in this country twice would be flown to their country of origin and escorted off the plane (landing the plane is of course optional)

Electrify the border fence so if they touch it, they're immediately fried?

This is another idea that I find has great merit. It also lets us build a few really big nuke plants to power the fence (and as an added benefit piss off the environazis)

Failing a land mine buffer or electrical fence (both together are a great idea though), I would favor 50 cals in overlapping fields of fire.

How about the solution Iraq used on the Kurds--just gas 'em in their villages before they can get to US soil?

This would be an act of war and cannot be done. The USA is only an agressor nation when crooked democrats (redundant I know) hold the presidency.

Border incident interests citizens' group

By Louie Villalobos, Staff Writer
Aug 12, 2003

Using the Yuma case of two men arrested for allegedly holding illegal immigrants at gunpoint as its coming-out party, a newly formed citizens' group is promising to sue two Yuma County departments and come to Arizona with an "army" ready to patrol the Mexican border.

Keith French, spokesman for the newly incorporated U.S. Special Service, said his Missouri-based organization intends to sue the Yuma County Sheriff's Office and the Yuma County Attorney's Office for what he called the unlawful arrest and detention of Matthew Hoffman and Alexander Dumas.

"We have adopted these men," French said.

Both men are accused of detaining six illegal immigrants at gunpoint July 31 in Gadsden until U.S. Border Patrol agents arrived.

Each is facing six counts of aggravated assault, five counts of unlawful imprisonment and one count of conspiracy to commit unlawful imprisonment following the incident.

In an e-mailed declaration sent to the county attorney's office, the sheriff's office and The Sun, the U.S. Special Service accuses both departments of violating the suspects' civil rights by arresting them for doing something permitted by the law.

"People are allowed to arrest someone they see commit a crime," French said. "And entering illegally is a crime."

French said the use of handcuffs and guns on the illegal immigrants by Hoffman and Dumas falls under justification for use of force in defense of property.

Though officials said the area where the incident occurred — County 18th Street and the Colorado River — is technically federal property, French contends the entire United States is the property of every American, which makes it legal for citizens to defend it against "the invasion of illegal immigrants."

A statement released Monday by Sheriff Ralph Ogden states he recognizes the frustrations surrounding current immigration policies and said citizens may assist in the apprehension of anyone violating the law.

But the statement goes one to "warn any individual assuming that responsibility that such arrests must be done in accordance with applicable state and federal laws and that failure to do so may result in their being charged with a violation of the law."

The department has said that detaining someone against their will, even if they have broken the law, is illegal and goes beyond what a citizen's arrest allows.

French said his organization had been looking at federal laws regarding private citizens' patrols when Hoffman and Dumas were arrested, and said the case is the perfect one for his group to announce itself with.

He said his group plans to help family members with the defense of their loved ones, but is urging both the county attorney's office and the sheriff's office to drop the charges and release Hoffman and Dumas. If not, French said his organization will seek alternative means to have the men freed.

"Sometimes you've got to fight fire with fire," he said. "They can take that however the hell they want."

A second demand in the e-mailed declaration is the resignation of Yuma County Attorney Patricia Orozco, who French said is pursuing the case because her Hispanic descent has caused her to take the incident personally.

For her part, Orozco said that her office pursuing the case has nothing to do with her Hispanic heritage and everything to do with the law. She said her staff didn't do anything different on this case than it has in previous cases or will do with future ones.

"Our standard is whether there is a reasonable likelihood of a conviction at trial," she said. "We found that there was sufficient evidence for us to bring charges and we did."

Also targeted by French's group are the illegal immigrants that cross through Arizona on a daily basis. French said he intends to bring an "army" to the Arizona-Mexico border in the near future that will be armed and ready to detain illegal immigrants.

He said plans are in the works for the group to come to the Arizona border and tour the area for possible locations for a base camp. French said the camp will most likely be in the Tucson area but that he intends to visit Yuma to check on the Hoffman-Dumas case and illegal immigrant activity.

Unlike the other citizens' group working near Tucson — which tends to stay on private land — French said his organization will also patrol federal land and public property. Yuma County's border with Mexico is largely federal land, officials have said.

"The United States government's land is the people's land," he said. "And we will function on that property."

--
Louie Villalobos can be reached at lvillalobos@yumasun.com or 539-6858.

http://yumasun.com/artman/publish/a...tory_6677.shtml

Listen pinhead,
you have accused people of being racist for expressing an opinion. I do not owe you anything, least of that which can be easily proven. You clearly have an agenda in this issue. In which case, no amount of proof will suffice, as you are here only to agitate.
Let me know when you have finished "discrediting" the below sources.

http://www.npg.org/immpoll.html
From the above...
"Americans agree (85%) that illegal immigration is a “serious” problem, and over half (55%) say it is “very serious.”"

http://www.mnforsustain.org/mn_immg_poll_1st_district_oct99.htm

http://www.immigrationcontrol.com/AIC_Zogby_Mexican_Poll.htm

http://www.worldviews.org/detailreports/usreport/public_topline_report.pdf

http://www.worldviews.org/detailreports/usreport/leaders_topline_report.pdf

http://www.usnewswire.com/topnews/qtr1_2003/1217-100.html

http://suppressednews.com/newsitems/national/EppEykpEypVbDSjtuC.html

From the above...
"* When asked whether the government was doing enough to control the border and screen those allowed into the country, 76 percent said the government was not doing enough and only 19 percent said the government was doing
enough. While self-identified conservatives were the most likely to think not enough was being done (83 percent), 74 percent of liberals and 75 percent of moderates also indicated that enforcement was insufficient. In addition, by a margin of more than two to one, blacks, whites, and
Hispanics all thought government efforts at border control and vetting of immigrants were inadequate."

And lastly....
http://www.fairus.org/html/04120604.htm

Nitpicking? Whatever, I stand by the statement. Your cluelessness regarding the meaning notwithstanding.

I don't like the fact that people are coming across the border and being labeled as criminals. I'd prefer to see this problem solved with a program like Dubya has proposed. Amnesty for working families, expanding legal immigration, free-trade and promoting business in Mexico, but lastly cracking down on businesses who hire illegals,and stronger enforcement of the borders.

All the people coming across the border aren't bad guys ---- but Mexico really does have a very serious crime problem and nothing stops the worst criminals from just coming on over. There is also high unemployment in many areas of this country --- along the border it's double digit and it's hard to justify bringing in millions of low skilled uneducated people and their families when we're sending out millions of low skilled jobs.

Mexico is a very wealthy country with vast oil reserves and natural resources ----- we don't need to solve all their problems ---and we can't as long as they choose to keep their corrupt political system and culture. They need to make some serious changes ----and then they wouldn't need to be parasites on the US ---- there's no good reason for the way things are over there.

I guess Giuliani is in over his head?

I think so --- there needs to be some pretty deep changes in that society before they become right.

A while back there was a panel discussion broadcast from Juarez which was quite interesting ---they (all Mexicans and no one was playing any race card) were discussing the problems of their city ---- massive migration with overburdened hospitals and schools, destitute people moving in with too few jobs and all low paying jobs, skyrocketing crime. One of the panel members said massive migration is instability. It results from instability and leads to instability. You've got people with no family or neighborhood support, cut off from their roots and hometowns, families broken apart and all the rest. Interestingly too ---they discussed the cultural changes to a small northern town that had it's own culture being invaded by hundreds of thousands coming from other places (in Mexico but those places are culturally different). It's the same thing we're seeing here --- massive migration of people really isn't a good thing.

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