Huckabee's New Strategy - Embrace Hatred

Today, two important events demonstrated just how far to the right the Republican Presidential candidates are shifting on the immigration issue. The first was the endorsement of Iowa front runner, Mike Huckabee, by Minutemen founder, Jim Gilchrist –not so much for the fact that Gilchrist is once again trying to thrust his agenda center stage – but rather Huckabee's willingness to embrace it.

On stage at an event in Council Bluffs with Gilchrist ,Huckabee characterized the anti- immigrant vigilante as "a person who just got fed up with what he saw as a breakdown of his own government.…Since October of 2004 he's been one of the leading voices in this country trying to bring sanity to an issue that's spiraled.." adding:

"Frankly, Jim I've got to tell you there were times in the early days of the Minutemen I thought what are these guys doing, what are they about," Huckabee said. "I confess I owe you an apology." He said of Gilchrist, "nobody can question his commitment to his country."

Washington Post

The second event was an announcement by the leading civil rights watchdog group, The Southern Poverty Law Center, that the parent organization of the Washington think tank that's been credited with formulating Huckabee's new tough nine-point plan on immigration has been officially placed on their list of Hate Groups operating in the US.

In a statement issued today, the SPLC asserted that due to its ties to know white supremacists and promotion of racist ideas, the nation's leading anti-immigrant organization, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), would be placed on the Hate Group list. It joins other radical groups like the Neo-Nazi, National Alliance, and the KKK, who also share the same classification.

The country's leading anti-immigration organization — whose leaders have testified repeatedly before Congress and are frequently quoted in the media — has ties to known racists and a long track record of bigotry, according to a new report released today by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

The group, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR):

• is the creation of a man who operates a racist publishing company and has compared immigrants to "bacteria;"



• has employed members of white supremacist groups in key positions;



• has promoted racist conspiracy theories; and



• has accepted more than $1 million from the Pioneer Fund, a racist foundation devoted to eugenics and to proving a connection between race and IQ.

The SPLC today added FAIR to its list of hate groups operating in the United States.

"FAIR's position on immigration is rooted more in its anti-Latino and anti-Catholic beliefs than in policy concerns," said Mark Potok, the director of the SPLC's project that monitors hate group activity. "Remarkably, it has still managed to infiltrate the mainstream and shape the immigration debate in this country."

FAIR helped defeat federal immigration reform earlier this year and has played a key role in fueling the fierce, anti-immigrant backlash in the United States. It was founded in 1979 by John Tanton, a man who has compared immigrants to bacteria and warned that high birthrates will allow Latinos to take over America. Still a member of FAIR's board, Tanton also operates The Social Contract Press, listed as a hate group for many years by the SPLC because of its anti-Latino and white supremacist writings.
SPLC

FAIR's ties to Huckabee come through its public policy wing; The Center for Immigration Studies, which the former Arkansas Governor has widely credited for the formulation of his new "get tough" immigration policy. In fact he pretty much just lifted the whole thing from a proposal by CIS executive director Mark Krikorian.

The nine-point immigration plan released Friday by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee came with a footnote:

"Note: This plan is partially modeled on a proposal by Mark Krikorian, Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies." That proposal by the conservative anti-illegal immigration activist was published in the National Review in May 2005.

Not only is Huckabee's plan strikingly similar to the magazine piece – in some cases, it contains exact quotations copied over from the article

CNN

Its been well documented that FAIR, CIS and a network of other leading anti-immigrant groups are all in fact not only connected, but were all founded and under the leadership of one man; John Tanton, who for over 25 years has been the driving force behind the ant-immigrant movement. The groups share funding, leadership, and in some cases offices.

in 1985, FAIR would spin off yet another major Tanton organization — the Center for Immigration Studies, which presented itself as an impartial think tank and later even sought to distance itself from the organization that had birthed it.

Today, the Center regularly dispatches experts to testify on Capitol Hill, and last year it was awarded a six-figure research contract by the U.S. Census Bureau.

SPLC

SPLC on Federation for American Immigration Reform

The fact that Huckabee has chosen to align himself with CIS, Krikorian, and FAIR is not surprising. FAIR, through its networks of organizations, has become a leading political force in anti-immigrant politics. During the last debate over immigration reform legislation, FAIR affiliate, Numbers USA, was credited with a campaign that generated over a million faxes in opposition to the bill. Obviously with the adoption of Kirkorian's immigration policies Huckabee is hoping to put the full weight of the Tanton network behind his campaign.

This "new" Mike Huckabee is a far cry from the preacher turned politician who a few years ago called anti-immigrant legislation "Un-Christian"

Gov. Mike Huckabee Thursday denounced a bill by Sen. Jim Holt that would deny state benefits to illegal immigrants as un-Christian, un-American, irresponsible and anti-life.

… Even if benefits to people who are in the U.S illegally could be stopped, "I don't understand how a practicing Christian can turn his back on a child from this or any other state," Huckabee said.

… The bill is modeled after a similar law in Arizona and supported by the newly formed group Protect Arkansas NOW. The group's chairman is Joe McCutchen

… Huckabee said he took exception to characterization of immigrants in the bill and by its supporters as exploiters of social programs. "They pay sales taxes on their groceries," Huckabee said. "They pay fuel taxes. If they're using a fake Social Security number, they're paying Social Security taxes and will never receive any benefit. It would be closer to the truth to say they're subsidizing Joe McCutchen and Jim Holt more than the other way around.

Arkansas News Bureau, 1/28/05

But then again, the old Mike Huckabee could never have gotten through the Republican primary process …not in the current toxic climate where hate groups, racist vigilantes, and politicians willingly join forces to pander and promote hatred and fear.

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Boom…you're dead

18 seconds into the 911 call reporting a burglary at his neighbor's home, 61 year old Pasadena Texas resident, Joe Horn, said to the dispatcher, "I've got a shotgun, uh, do you want me to stop 'em"…after seven minutes of trying to convince Horn to remain in his home and wait for police, Horn finally told the dispatcher, "Well, here it goes buddy, you hear the shotgun clicking and I'm going." …His next words were "boom, you're, dead"…and with that three shots were fired, and two men lay dead outside of Horn's home.

Killed in the incident in the 7400 block of Timberline were Miguel Antonio DeJesus, 38, and Diego Ortiz, 30, both of Houston.

Each had a minor previous brush with the law. Records show DeJesus was charged with failure to identify himself to a police officer in July 2004. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 days in jail. Ortiz was charged with possession of marijuana in July 2005, but it was later dismissed.

Houston Chronicle

The chilling 911 tape reveals a man intent on murder from the start, but Horn's defense will most likely revolve around a new state law that may allow people to use deadly force to protect neighbors' property.

"If you see someone stealing your neighbor's property, you can get involved and help to stop it," said Sandra Guerra Thompson, a law professor at the University of Houston Law Center.

Others disagreed.

The statutes that allow people to use deadly force to stop a burglary appear to require that the incident be occurring at night, said Craig Jett, a Dallas criminal defense attorney and president of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyer's Association.

"It can't be during the day," Jett said.

Experts said that a grand jury may sympathize with Horn. Some people believe that you should be able to protect your neighborhood, said Anthony Osso, a Houston criminal defense attorney.

Osso said that Horn's defense might be that he wanted to prevent the robbers from leaving until police arrived, but they tried to flee and he shot them.

Houston Chronicle

Although some are heralding Horn as a vigilante hero, the 911 tape reveals a different story. Horn, although clearly agitated about the two Black men he saw enter his neighbors house through a rear window, at no time demonstrates that he has any reason to fear for his own safety or believes he's in any danger. In fact throughout most of the conversation Horn is clearly trying to convince the dispatcher that he should give him "permission" to take things into his own hands…repeatedly telling the dispatcher that he knows the law and has the right to take action and "defend himself"

Joe Horn, 61, told the dispatcher what he intended to do: Walk out his front door with a shotgun.

"I've got a shotgun," Horn said, according to a tape of the 911 call. "Do you want me to stop them?"

"Nope, don't do that - ain't no property worth shooting somebody over, OK?" the dispatcher responded.

"Hurry up man, catch these guys, will you? 'Cause I'm ain't gonna let 'em go, I'm gonna be honest with you, I'm not gonna let 'em go. I'm not gonna let 'em get away with this ----."

Shortly after, Horn said he sees one suspect was standing in front of his house, looking at it from the street.

"I don’t know if they’re armed or not. I know they got a crowbar 'cause that's what they broke the windows with. ... Man, this is scary, I can't believe this is happening in this neighborhood."

He gets more agitated. The dispatcher asks if he can see the suspects but they had retreated into the target's house, out of view: "I can go out the front [to look], but if I go out the front I'm bringing my shotgun with me, I swear to God. I am not gonna let 'em get away with this, I can't take a chance on getting killed over this, OK? I'm gonna shoot, I'm gonna shoot."

"Stay inside the house and don’t go out there, OK?" the dispatcher said. "I know you're pissed off, I know what you're feeling, but it's not worth shooting somebody over this, OK?"

"I don’t want to," Horn said, "but I mean if I go out there, you know, to see what the hell is going on, what choice am I gonna have?

"No, I don’t want you to go out there, I just asked if you could see anything out there."

The dispatcher asks if a vehicle could be seen; Horn said no. The dispatcher again says Horn should stay inside the house.

Almost five minutes into the call, police had not arrived.

"I can’t see if [the suspects are] getting away or not," Horn said.

Horn told the dispatcher that he doesn’t know the neighbors well, unlike those living on the other side of his home. "I can assure you if it had been their house, I would have already done something, because I know them very well," he said.

Dispatcher: "I want you to listen to me carefully, OK?"

Horn: "Yes?"

Dispatcher: "I got ultras coming out there. I don't want you to go outside that house. And I don't want you to have that gun in your hand when those officers are poking around out there."

Horn: "I understand that, OK, but I have a right to protect myself too, sir, and you understand that. And the laws have been changed in this country since September the First and you know it and I know it."

Dispatcher: "I understand."

Horn: "I have a right to protect myself ..."

Dispatcher: "I'm ..."

Horn: "And a shotgun is a legal weapon, it's not an illegal weapon."

Dispatcher: "No, it's not, I'm not saying that, I'm just not wanting you to ..."

Horn: "OK, he's coming out the window right now, I gotta go, buddy. I'm sorry, but he's coming out the window. "

Dispatcher: "No, don't, don't go out the door, Mister Horn. Mister Horn..."

Horn: "They just stole something, I'm going out to look for 'em, I'm sorry, I ain't letting them get away with this ----. They stole something, they got a bag of stuff. I'm doing it!"

Dispatcher: "Mister, do not go outside the house."

Horn: "I'm sorry, this ain't right, buddy."

Dispatcher: "You gonna get yourself shot if you go outside that house with a gun, I don't care what you think."

Horn: "You wanna make a bet?"

Dispatcher: "Stay in the house."

Horn: "There, one of them's getting away!

Dispatcher: "That's alright, property's not something worth killing someone over. OK? Don't go out the house, don't be shooting nobody. I know you're pissed and you're frustrated but don't do it."

Horn: "They got a bag of loot."

Dispatcher: "OK. How big is the bag?" He then talks off, relaying the information.

Dispatcher: "Which way are they going?"

Horn: "I can't ... I'm going outside. I'll find out."

Dispatcher: "I don't want you going outside, Mister..."

Horn: "Well, here it goes buddy, you hear the shotgun clicking and I'm going."

Dispatcher: "Don't go outside."

On the tape of the 911 call, the shotgun can be heard being cocked and Horn can be heard going outside and confronting someone.

"Boom! You're dead!" he shouts. A loud bang is heard, then a shotgun being cocked and fired again, and then again.

CBS News

The complete tape of the 911 call can be heard here:



Horn released a statement through his attorney stating that, "The events of that day will weigh heavily on me for the rest of my life. My thoughts go out to the loved ones of the deceased." His attorney, Tom Lambright, claims that, "When he was in my office yesterday, he was crying uncontrollably"

Lambright says devastated doesn't even begin to describe the 61-year-old, that he only fired because he feared for his life. When Horn went outside, Lambright says, the men were on Horn's property about 15 feet from his front door.

"He didn't know what they were gonna do, but he was petrified at that point," said Lambright.

KTRK, Houston

Diamond Morgan, the widow of one of Horn's victims, Diego Ortiz, Sr., sees it differently. ""If you were afraid for your life, then why the hell did you come outside," said Morgan.…that's a question many will be asking …. And hopefully the grand jury that will hear this case will hear in that 911 conversation what any right thinking person does. …a man intent upon killing … a man who could not be deterred by any force of reason …. A criminal ….a vigilante … a murderer.

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Missing funds cause rift in vigilante group

Last summer news of missing funds initiated a near meltdown within the ranks of the Minutemen. When financial statements showed that much of the $1.6 mil dollars raised to build barricades along the border was unaccounted for, Minuteman Civil Defense Corp founder, Chris Simcox, faced numerous defections and challenges to power from disgruntled fellow vigilantes.

Now his former partner, and Minuteman Project co-founder, Jim Gilchrist, has been ousted from the leadership of his group amongst allegations of the misappropriation of $400,000 in donations intended to fund border patrol activities.

Although Gilchrist denied the allegations, saying the controversy "could very well bring an end to the entire Minuteman Project", the case has now moved to a California courtroom where a judge will be making a decision that could very well determine if Gilchrist will remain the public face of the vigilante movement.

A behind-the-scenes power struggle over control of the Minuteman Project spilled into an Orange County courtroom Monday with ousted co-founder Jim Gilchrist asking a judge to give him back control of the citizen border patrol group.

Superior Court Judge Randell L. Wilkinson said he would issue a ruling within a few days.

Gilchrist, 58, a national figure in the fight against illegal immigration, was removed as president of the Minuteman Project this month by its board of directors, which accused him of abusing his power and leaving more than $400,000 of the organization's money unaccounted for.

Gilchrist, a retired accountant from Aliso Viejo, denied the allegations but said the controversy "could very well bring an end to the entire Minuteman Project. There are groups around the country with the name, but we are the most well known and the most powerful."

Gilchrist said in an interview that his opponents were motivated by "a greed for power and a false perception of an endless stream of money."

Gilchrist said all money raised by his organization was accounted for and that his critics had leveled false allegations to gain control of the organization.

LA Times Feb. 27,2007

Yet, Gilchrist's opponents see things a little differently.

Deborah Courtney, the group's recently appointed treasurer, said in an interview that a direct mail company helped raise $750,000 for the group in 2006, but that she believes the Minuteman campaign received only $311,000. Courtney said she and others had been unable to trace the rest of the money.

…opponents also allege in interviews that he used Minuteman funds to promote the book he co-wrote — "Minutemen: The Battle to Secure America's Borders" — but kept the royalties.

LA Times Feb. 27,2007

Additionally, a complaint against Gilchrist was recently filed with the Internal Revenue Service by opponents who alleged that he never obtain nonprofit status for the group and that he used another organization's nonprofit status to receive discounted nonprofit postal rates.

Infighting, power struggles and questions of financial misconduct are nothing new in the world of the Minutemen. The Minuteman Project has been plagued by controversy from the start. The question is; will Gilchrist survive this newest round of rebellion from within?

The Minuteman Project has never been too particular about who they associate with and has a long history of association with far-right fringe elements like the neo-Nazi National Alliance, Joe Turner's Save Our State, and Barbara Coe of the CCIR (California Coalition for Immigration Reform.)

Since the split between Minuteman Project co-founders Simcox and Gilchrist that left Gilchrist at the helm of the original organization with Simcox running the rival Minuteman Civil Defense Corp, Gilchrist has been forced to compete with a growing number of new vigilante groups for members, funding, media attention and allies. Currently there are about 200 loosely affiliated Minuteman groups operating across the country – with new ones starting all the time. This added competition has left Gilchrist vulnerable to attacks from both the fringe right and those wishing to move the group into the mainstream.

Opponents state that Gilchrist has outgrown his usefulness to the "movement" and it's time for its chief spokesman to take a powder.

Robert Vasquez, a former county commissioner in Idaho who sued companies that hired illegal workers, said top conservative Minuteman leaders turned against Gilchrist, including Barbara Coe. She heads the California Coalition for Immigration Reform and co-wrote Proposition 187, the ballot measure that sought to deny undocumented immigrants certain public benefits.

"Sometimes a position becomes bigger than the man," Vasquez said. "It's unfortunate that it has reached this point." (1)

"It is absolutely traumatic," said Coe, of Huntington Beach. "I had total loyalty to him, and I reassured Jim many times. I pleaded with him, I begged him to [work] with us who were trying to resolve the problems with the Minuteman Project."(2)

(1)LA Times

(2) LA Times Feb. 27,2007

Marvin Stewart, who to replace Gilchrist in February after a vote by board members, said Gilchrist's charisma "is what got me on the team. It attracted people across the nation to come aboard…. But when we talk about the rule of law as an organization fighting illegal immigration, we too as an organization must be in compliance with the rule of law, when we allow these things to occur with any organization, we send a message to the public."

As a centralized Minuteman movement slowly unravels, to be replaced by a loose-knit amalgam of vigilantes and cazamigrantes (immigrant hunters) around the country, it is inevitable that we will see an increase of violence and racially motivated attacks.

In the fall of 2005, when there were only approximately 40 spin-off groups (as opposed to today's 200), the Southern Poverty Law Center chronicled the growing violence in these spin-off groups.

Trigger happy," Goliad County, Texas, Sheriff Robert DeLaGarza thought to himself. It was early July and DeLaGarza was meeting with members of the Texas Minuteman Corps, a new vigilante border patrol outfit that started recruiting in DeLaGarza's county in June.

"They kept talking a lot about shooting illegals, and what they could and couldn't do to make it self-defense of life or property," DeLaGarza said. "One woman kept asking, 'Well, what if they reach for a rock, can we shoot them then? What if they're on private land? Can we shoot them for trespassing?'"

DeLaGarza gave the vigilantes a stern warning: "My community doesn't tolerate racism or racist violence in any form. I told them that if they step one inch out of line, I'm going to hammer their ass."

Later that month in California, two Mexicans were wounded in separate shootings the same night along a 14-mile stretch of the border between Campo and Tecate, Calif., that was being patrolled by the California Minutemen, another new vigilante border patrol group.

…snip…

Inspired by the Minuteman Project, … more than 40 anti-immigration "citizens border patrol" and "internal vigilance" groups have formed since early May. The original Minuteman Project's leaders, Jim Gilchrist and Chris Simcox, have little or no control over most of these splinters, spin-offs and imitators.

SPLC

More recently we've seen increased violence aimed at migrants. This past month alone there were three separate incidents along the Arizona border, two resulting in deaths. We cannot be sure if these attacks were the actions of border vigilantes, or other criminal elements, but whenever there is a growing movement like that of the Minutemen, with it's mix of racism, militarism, and xenophobia, conditions are ripe for violence. When this is coupled with a lack of any real centralized leadership or accountability, violence is all but inevitable.

The original Minuteman Project was already the home of numerous far-right white supremacist and neo-Nazi deviants. Like a cancer, the further break-up of the group will only send these infected cells out to further metastasize and spread their message of hate and violence to infect the nation.

Related:
San Diego Union-Tribune
Washinton Times


tags: immigration, Jim Gilchrist , minutemen, vigilantes

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Violence escalates at the border

From the "If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck" department comes this story of murder at the border:

Gunmen attack migrants, kill man and injure teen


Authorities are searching for four men who attacked 12 undocumented immigrants, killed an Eloy man and shot a teenager, Pinal County Sheriff's Office officials said.

Authorities said David Norris Jr. was driving a pickup truck containing 12 illegal immigrants late Saturday in an Eloy farm field when four heavily armed men in a white full-size van began firing on them.

All four men were wearing military-style berets, camouflage pants and shirts, authorities said.

"As far as being a group we don't know that yet," said Pinal County Sheriff's Office Detective Buddy Johnson, who is investigating the case. "Is there any group of people we are looking at? No. Anybody can dress in anything and they can do this."

Detectives aren't sure of a motive, that the attackers could have been vigilantes, rival smugglers or criminals trying to steal drugs, although no drugs were found in the truck, Johnson said.

"Anything's possible, we are taking all the information we can," Johnson said.

Arizona Republic

OK …let me get this straight.

Four guys dressed in camo with military-style berets ambush a pickup full of people they assume are undocumented immigrants in the middle of a farm field and Sheriff Buddy Johnson's not sure whether they are part of an organized group?

Were they going to a costume party?....did they just happened to all pick the same outfits that day like a couple of starlets who show up at an awards ceremony in the same dress?

Let me clue you in Barney Fife …Any time four guys are wearing the same clothes, that makes them part of group … you know, like a sports team …..it's called a uniform Detective.

So Detective Johnson, who do you think these men in military-style uniforms might be?

Do you know of any group or individuals in the area that are in the habit of dressing up and roaming around the desert looking for migrants?

Norris, 46, of Eloy, was fatally shot and 19-year-old Andres de Jesus, from Oaxaca, Mexico, was shot in the leg during the attack, authorities said.

"They told them to get down to the floor and then they shot and everyone started running," said Alejandro Ramos, a spokesman with the Mexican Consulate in Tucson, from the immigrants' reports. "They didn't take anything. It's pretty strange. We aren't sure who (the attackers) are."

...

Johnson said due to the large amount of blood found in the back of the pickup, a third victim may have also been shot but has not been found.

The four suspects were wearing military-style berets, one red and three black, and green camouflage pants and shirts, authorities said.

Three of the suspects are described as White and one Hispanic, who spoke limited Spanish, authorities said.

Most of the undocumented victims fled from the attack, but authorities were able to talk to five witnesses, ages 14 to 24, who helped produce a sketch of one of the attackers, Johnson said.


Arizona Republic

Let's see. We've got four guys, three white and one Hispanic, dressed paramilitary-style who order a truckload of migrants to lie on the floor then start shooting at them.

No drugs are found in the truck and they didn't take anything, so "criminals trying to steal drugs" seems far fetched.

They spoke limited Spanish so "rival smugglers" looks like a long shot also.

So who does that leave?

Come on detective think about.

Here I'll give you a clue:



What do you think…is it possible?

Could it be one of the myriad of border vilgilante groups roamimg the desert?

The night of April 3, armed vigilantes camped along Border Road in a series of watch posts set-up for the Minuteman Project, a month-long action in which revolving casts of 150 to 200 anti-immigration militants wearing cheap plastic "Undocumented Border Patrol Agent" badges mobilized in southeastern Arizona. Their stated goal was to "do the job our government refuses to do" and "protect America" from the "tens of millions of invading illegal aliens who are devouring and plundering our nation."

At Station Two, Minuteman volunteers grilled bratwursts and fantasized about murder.

"It should be legal to kill illegals," said Carl, a 69-year old retired Special Forces veteran who fought in Vietnam and now lives out West. "Just shoot 'em on sight. That's my immigration policy recommendation. You break into my country, you die."

Carl was armed with a revolver chambered to fire shotgun shells. He wore this hand cannon in a holster below a shirt that howled "American bad asses" in red, white and blue. The other vigilantes assigned to Station Two included a pair of self-professed members of the National Alliance, a violent neo-Nazi organization. These men, who gave their names only as Johnny and Michael, were outfitted in full-body camouflage and strapped with semi-automatic pistols.

Earlier that day, Johnny and Michael had scouted sniper positions in the rolling, cactus-studded foothills north of Border Road, taking compass readings and drawing maps for future reference.

"I agree completely," Michael said. "You get up there with a rifle and start shooting four or five of them a week, the other four or five thousand behind them are going to think twice about crossing that line."

With a grilled sausage in one hand and a cheap night vision scope in the other, Johnny scanned the brush in Mexico, spitting distance away.

"The thing to do would be to drop the bodies just a few hundred feet into the U.S. and just leave them there, with lights on them at night," he said. "That sends the message 'No Trespassing,' in any language."

Arizona Showdown Southern Poverty Law Center

Jeez, how many migrants have to be attacked or killed before people start to realize that these people are terrorists and murderers? Yeah, the majority are a bunch of blowhard racists who never even waddle out of their lawn chairs longer then it takes to grab a hotdog or a beer, but in amongst them are some certifiable psychos and sociopaths. Anyone who has spent any time at their websites or read their internet forums knows what they really believe and what they are capable of doing. They advocate hatred and violence. They view themselves as "warriors" and "patriots" in a battle against an "invading horde."

Anyone who doubts they are capable of this level of violence is dangerously naïve.

My advice to Detective Johnson ... open your eyes ....and do your job, damn it.



Anyone with information on the attack is asked to call the Pinal County Sheriff's Office Homicide Division at 1-800-358-4636 or 1-520-866-5105.




tags: immigration, border deaths , vigilantes, Arizona border

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Virtual Vigilantes

Not content to spend the entire day sitting in the hot sun in hopes of spotting a border-crosser or two, anti-immigrant vigilantes have turned to the internet as the newest weapon in their war against the undocumented. In the past two years, a growing number of websites have sprung up where ordinary citizens can report people they suspect of being undocumented or those who employ them. None is more controversial than, WeHireAliens.com, where people are encouraged to anonymously submit written information accusing businesses of hiring illegal workers, often naming specific employees as "illegal aliens".

The site, launched in February 2005 by a Riverside California man, requires no actual proof of illegal practices beyond the statements of its anonymous informants before it publishes the accusations along with addresses, phone numbers, and at times other personal information about the accused. WeHireAliens.com not only recommends that the businesses it lists be boycotted, but claims it forwards all the information about the businesses and suspected "illegal aliens" to ICE, the FBI and the Social Security Administration.

These practices have raised serious questions about privacy rights, libel and slander, and the legality of these kinds of anonymous public accusations.


tags: immigration, vilgilantes , WeHireAliens, legal rights

The site, that lists over 2,800 businesses in 47 states, now averages between 750,000 to 1 million hits a month, according to its founder, Jason Mrochek, Yet, Mrochek admits that he doesn't check or confirm accusations from contributors before posting or sending information to authorities.

Mrochek reviews the information to see if it seems credible. If he deems the accusations add up to what he calls "reasonable suspicion," he goes ahead and posts the company on a list of businesses to boycott and then forwards the information to ICE, the FBI and the Social Security Administration.Mrochek said he makes no effort to verify any submitted information, or notify companies, before posting accusations on his site.

He said, however, that he rejects about 50 percent of the claims, usually because the information is too vague. "We leave it up to (people who visit the Web site) to decide how compelling the information is," he said.

Mrochek said several businesses have threatened to sue him after their companies were posted on the site. But none has so far.

Arizona Republic

Reading through some of the postings on the site it becomes quite obvious that the veracity of many of the claims is highly questionable and Mrochek's bar for "reasonable suspicion" is set quite low. Many of the informant's posts seem to fall into a few easily recognized categories.

(all names have been changed, links are not provided as it would only aid in furthering slandering the accused)

THEY LOOK ILLEGAL TO ME

"I have been working in the area lately and have seen that the majority of workers entering the building thru the back,are hispanic. While I cannot state that 100% are illegals. It is a safe bet that most are."

"I am working in a Liquor store and when we get delivery from ACME,who distributes Budweiser beer.The delivery guy speaks very poor English"

"This company has been hired by our "homeowner's association"…. Illegals are in our yards every week mowing lawns, edging, and other lawn maintenance. I recently planted flowers and other plants, and was concerned about them being mowed over or destroyed. When I approached one of the employees while he was working in my yard, he could not speak one word of English. He had to get another person to talk to me. That person could hardly understand what I said either. After much pointing, they figured it out. I believe that the supervisor overseeing the job who sits at the truck the entire time is a legal citizen, but there is no way any of the others are."

RECENTLY FIRED EMPLOYEES

"I was recently terminated from this company to allow a mexican's brother come in and take my place! WHY? He will work for less!"

"My boyfriend got a job from John Doe at ACME last week. All his employees are Mexican.(Most of them are). Johnnie was pushed out of the job because one of the mexicans cousins came here recently from Mexico, and needed a job. So Johnnie was "let go" and was told that Juan's cousin did not require any training."

SOMEBODY TOLD ME

"I was working at ACME for a subcontractor on a construction project during the spring of 06. I was talking to some of the maintenance workers and they told me that they thought over 70% of the assembly workers where illegal workers."

"The plant where I work, ACME employs roughly 200 employees. I would guess 80% Mexicans Or Hispanic. One Legal mexican told my co workers in a conversation that only a few, maybe 6 to 10 were legal. All the rest were illegal and were going to march in protest in Atlanta on monday May 1st."

THE BOSS TOLD ME

"They employee maexicans only. Cause they are can pay less money. I hear the boss said this many times. I work there years in the past."

"He has told me that he employes many illegal mexicans.He was braging that he does not have to pay taxes or insurance. He pays them in cash."

I'M MAD AS HELL

"I was married to this fool. He hired illegal aliens from Mexico, they had fake social security numbers."

"They employed my husband and he was employed with an illegal SS card and an expired work authorization in June 2005. I went and sat down with the general manager and told them what he had done. Tampered with his SS card. … They treated me like I was a criminal and ask me not to come back on the property or call the buisness. This happened the day after I went in and reported him. I called the buisness to see if they had let him go. I was talked to very badly and my husband was committing adultrey with their Parts Dept Manager [Jane Doe] she is pictured on their website. My husband is John Doe…. His employer and the woman he was cohabitating with knew full well that he was married and that I was his sponsor! I was granted my divorce on March 6th 2006. I am willing to testify as to his tampering with his SS card and anything else I can to get him deported ASAP. …. INS knows ALL of this and have known all this since August 2005!!!! Apparantly he is appealing their decision …and I do not care what he has obtained since I reported this, maybe a temporary work permit, I have no idea … My husband as of August 2005 was NOT a permannet resident. I was his sponsor through marriage. When I signed on as his sponsor..we were told that IF he broke the law, he would be deported, IF I withdrew my sponsorship, which I did, he would have to leave...he reamins here. WHY???? I am ANGRY!! …My husband is BRITISH and I was very stupid and took me awhile and everything I had to realize that he was here for the good life and a GREEN CARD!!"

Quite obviously the site provides a means to vent frustrations, settle vendettas, express racism, and engage in gossip and hearsay.

Ultimately, it will come down to the question of whether this kind of virtual vigilantism is legal. Particularly in the cases where the names, addresses, and phone numbers of those suspected of being undocumented are posted along with the businesses they work for.

The site has raised a number of concerns. One is that disgruntled employees or competitors could use the site to tarnish the reputation of law-abiding businesses. Another is that assumptions about an employee's legal status based on race or ethnicity could lead to false accusations.

"The virtual vigilantism of this site encourages anonymous informants and the trafficking of whispered innuendo. That is not characteristic of a free society that values due process and the right to confront your accuser," said Farrell Quinlan, Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry spokesman.

Indeed, some of the "evidence" that lands businesses on the site seems racially tinged, or stems from second- and third-hand sources. Phoenix employment lawyer Neil Alexander said the site could be considered slanderous.

"If you accuse somebody publicly of engaging in criminal activity you can potentially be liable for defamation or libel," Alexander said.

Arizona Republic

These practices have led to complaints from those who have been wrongly acussed.

In November someone who claimed to be a former employee of Glendale Welding Co. accused the steel tank manufacturer of hiring "illegals a day after they crossed the desert." Owner Bob Carlson was outraged when he found out his company was on the site.

"It's totally made up," Carlson said.

The accusation also angered Glendale resident Robert Juarez, 55, a 23-year veteran of the company. Juarez, who is Hispanic, was born in Texas. He said he resents when people assume Latinos are undocumented immigrants.

"I'm Hispanic, but I am not an illegal," Juarez said.

The company employees 22 welders, Carlson said. Half are Hispanic, but all but three were born in the U.S. Those born in Mexico have work visas, Carlson said. "It's like witch hunting," he said.

Arizona Republic

Often in the past we have seen societies where citizens are encouraged to inform on their neighbors, be the eyes and ears for the ruling party, or publicly denounce and accuse wrongdoers without providing substantial evidence. We saw it in Nazi Germany, Communist Russia and the Taliban's Afghanistan. Yet our own history is not without such instances. From the testimony of misguided young girls in Salem, to the outrages of Joseph McCarthy, we as a nation have on occasion succumb to the primal urge to dance around the fire and watch the witches burn, willingly suspending our belief in legal rights and protections in order to exorcise imagined demons.

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Border vigilante found guilty, must pay $ 98,000 settlement

In a major blow to the border vigilante movement, a jury in the civil trial of Roger Barnett found him guilty Wednesday of intentionally inflicting emotional distress, negligence, unlawful imprisonment and assault. After three hours of deliberations in the Superior Court in Bisbee, Arizona, the jury in the civil trial ruled in favor of the plaintiffs awarding them $98,000.

The charges stem from an October 30, 2004 incident when Roger Barnett, his wife and brother, Donald Barnett stopped Arturo, Ronald, Vanese and Angelique Morales and the girls' friend, Emma English, while the group was on a hunting trip. Upon finding the group on land he leases for grazing livestock from the Arizona State Land Department, Barnett yelled racist obscenities and pointed his chambered, AR-15 assault rifle at the three young girls (ages 11 and 9) and the two men and threatened to kill them.


tags: immigration, Roger Barnett , vigilante , Minutemen

The hunters, all of whom are Americans of Mexican decent, said Barnett insulted them with racial slurs and threatened to shoot them - charges Barnett denied. Ronald Morales said he tried to get the county attorney to press criminal charges against Barnett, but was told no jury would convict him.

Morales' attorney, Jesus Romo Vejar, said he hoped the local prosecutor would now reconsider filing criminal charges against Barnett, and he hoped others who had had problems with the rancher also would be encouraged to file civil claims.

"Everybody thought that it was impossible to win in Cochise County, and we proved to them that it's not true," he said.

Romo Vejar called the case "historic" in the county's legal history, and said it was significant a jury of seven whites and one Hispanic ruled against Barnett.

The Morales suit was sponsored by two civil rights groups, the Border Action Network and the Southern Poverty Law Center, who have accused Barnett of abusing the illegal immigrants he detains on his ranch.

Douglas Daily Dispatch

The trial began on November 14th and included emotional and intense testimony from the children, their parents, psychologists, land surveyors, sheriffs' deputy, Arizona Game and Fish employee, and other bow hunters who had also been physically assaulted and barraged with racist insults by Barnett. The families were represented by Jesus Romo Vejar, a long-time civil rights and immigrant rights attorney.

"We're really relieved to see that finally Roger Barnett has been held responsible for the actions he has taken and the violence he has inflicted - and not just against the members of the Douglas community," said Jennifer Allen, director of the Border Action Network. "This also makes a statement to migrants who have been abused that these sorts of actions are, in fact, illegal."

Barnett estimates he has detained and turned over to the Border Patrol between 10,000 and 12,000 illegal immigrants during the past decade.

Barnett declined to comment on the verdict, saying his attorney had advised him not to speak on the matter.

Douglas Daily Dispatch

Barnett, known for dressing in military garb and caps with insignia resembling the United States Border Patrol’s, represents a special prize to the immigrant rights groups. He is ubiquitous on Web sites, mailings and brochures put out by groups monitoring the Mexican border and, with family members, was an inspiration for efforts like the Minutemen civilian border patrols.

“The Barnetts, probably more than any people in this country, are responsible for the vigilante movement as it now exists,” said Mark Potok, legal director of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks the groups. “They were the recipients of so much press coverage and they kept boasting, and it was out of those boasts that the modern vigilante movement sprang up.”

NYT

"This is an historic moment," reflects Jennifer Allen, Director of the Border Action Network. "This victory is just the beginning. We can guarantee that every official who tried to sweep this case and issue under the rug and who still has the capacity of bringing criminal charges will hear from us."

"The door has been opened by this very important decision condemning the violence and trauma caused by border vigilantism," continues Allen. "We've already seen the courage the Morales and English girls as well as the jury had for standing up for what is right and fair. Now we are looking for the courage of our public officials to uphold human dignity and end vigilante impunity."

The long-term ramifications of the decision are yet to be assessed, but other border vigilante groups will certainly be affected by the jury's verdict. Vigilante groups have long assumed that they can operate with virtual impunity along the border. Additionally, groups like the Minutemen have expanded their operations further from traditional border areas recently and taken on up a new campaign to root out undocumented immigrants at their jobs and in their homes. This decision will certainly come into play as they continue to expand their reach into areas of enforcement well beyond the commonly accepted legal boundaries

Some additional text courtesy of The Border Action Network.

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