- While Minuteman civilian patrols are
keeping an eye out for illegal border crossers, the U.S. Border Patrol
is keeping an eye out for Minutemen -- and telling the Mexican government
where they are.
-
- According to three documents on the Mexican
Secretary of Foreign Relations Web site, the U.S. Border Patrol is to notify
the Mexican government as to the location of Minutemen and other civilian
border patrol groups when they participate in apprehending illegal immigrants
-- and if and when violence is used against border crossers.
-
- A U.S. Customs and Border Protection
spokesman confirmed the notification process, describing it as a standard
procedure meant to reassure the Mexican government that migrants' rights
are being observed.
-
- "It's not a secret where the Minuteman
volunteers are going to be," Mario Martinez said Monday.
-
- "This ... simply makes two basic
statements -- that we will not allow any lawlessness of any type, and that
if an alien is encountered by a Minuteman or arrested by the Minuteman,
then we will allow that government to interview the person."
-
- Minuteman members were not so sanguine
about the arrangement, however, saying that reporting their location to
Mexican officials nullifies their effectiveness along the border and could
endanger their lives.
-
- "Now we know why it seemed like
Mexican officials knew where we were all the time," said Chris Simcox,
founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps. "It's unbelievable that
our own government agency is sending intelligence to another country. They
are sending intelligence to a nation where corruption runs rampant, and
that could be getting into the hands of criminal cartels.
-
- "They just basically endangered
the lives of American people."
-
- Officials with the Mexican consulate
in Washington, D.C., could not be reached for comment Monday.
-
- Martinez said reporting the location
of immigrant apprehensions to consulate representatives is common practice
if an illegal immigrant requests counsel or believes they have been mistreated.
-
- "Once an illegal alien is apprehended,
they can request counsel," he said. "We have to give their counsel
the information about their apprehension, and that includes where they
are apprehended, whether a Minuteman volunteer spotted them or a citizen."
-
- Martinez said Mexico's official perception
of the civilian groups is that they are vigilantes, a belief the Border
Patrol hoped to allay by entering into the cooperative agreement.
-
- One of the documents on the Web site,
"Actions of the Mexican Government in Relation to the Activities of
Vigilante Groups," states that Mexican consulate representatives stay
in close contact with Border Patrol chiefs to ensure the safety of migrants
trying to enter the U.S., those being detained and the actions of all "vigilantes"
along the border.
-
- "The Mexican consul in Presidio
also contacted the chief of the Border Patrol in the Marfa Sector to solicit
his cooperation in case they detect any activity of `vigilantes,' and was
told to immediately contact the consulate if there was," according
to the document.
-
- "Presidio" refers to Presidio
County, Texas, which is in the Big Bend region and a gateway to northern
Mexico.
-
- The document also describes a meeting
with San Diego Border Patrol sector chief Darryl Griffen.
-
- "(Griffen) said that the Border
Patrol will not permit any violence or any actions contrary to the law
by the groups, and he is continuously aware of (the volunteer organizations')
operations," according to the document. "Mr. Griffen reiterated
to the undersecretary his promise to notify the General Consul right away
when the vigilantes detain or participate in the detention of any undocumented
Mexicans."
-
- The documents specifically named the
Minuteman Civil Defense Corps and its patrols, which began monitoring Arizona's
southern border in April 2005, as well as Friends of the Border Patrol,
a Chino-based nonprofit.
-
- TJ Bonner, president of the National
Border Patrol Council, a union representing more than 10,000 Border Patrol
agents, said agents have complained for years about the Mexican consulate's
influence over the agency.
-
- "It worries me (that the Mexican
government) seems to be unduly influencing our enforcement policies. That's
not a legitimate role for any foreign nation," Bonner said, though
he added, "It doesn't surprise me."
-
- Border Patrol agents interviewed by the
Daily Bulletin said they have been asked to report to sector headquarters
the location of all civilian volunteer groups, but to not file the groups'
names in reports if they spot illegal immigrants.
-
- "Last year an internal memo notified
all agents not to give credit to Minuteman volunteers or others who call
in sightings of illegal aliens," said one agent, who spoke on the
condition he not be identified. "We were told to list it as a citizen
call and leave it at that. Many times, we were told not to go out to Minuteman
calls."
-
- The document also mentions locations
of field operations of Friends of the Border Patrol, which patrolled the
San Diego sector from June to November 2005. Mexican officials had access
to the exact location of the group founded by Andy Ramirez, which ran its
patrols from the Rough Acre Ranch, a private property in McCain Valley.
-
- Ramirez said that for safety reasons,
he disclosed the location of his ranch patrol only to San Diego Border
Patrol and law enforcement officials. The group did not apprehend or spot
any undocumented migrants in that area.
-
- "We did not release this information
... to the media or anyone else," Ramirez said. "We didn't want
to publicize that information. But there it is, right on the Mexican government's
Web site, and our government gave it to them."
-
- http://www.dailybulletin.com/news/ci_3799653
|
