Group fears escalating border tension: Calls self-proclaimed militia members 'domestic terrorists'

Sierra Vista Herald-Review ^ | 11/24/02 | Bill Hess

[Tancredo Fan]

Group fears escalating border tension: Calls self-proclaimed militia members 'domestic terrorists'

By BILL HESS

Herald/Review -- 11/24/02

BISBEE -- Saying the American Border Patrol and a self-proclaimed Tombstone militia group are wackos, Guadalupe Castillo said what is more frightening is that they are domestic terrorists.

Castillo, the co-chair of Coalicion de Derechos Humanos, said extreme right-wing groups want war with Mexico as a way to stop the flow of people coming into the United States whose only crime is to seek work.

"They (right-wing groups) are domestic terrorists. They are a bunch of McVeighs. They are wackos," she said to nearly 100 people who attended a meeting sponsored by Citizens for Border Solutions. Timothy McVeigh was a former soldier who was found guilty of and executed for blowing up a federal building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995, killing 168 people.

Castillo and others spoke to nearly 100 people at an event sponsored by the Citizens for Border Solutions, a group dedicated to finding peaceful ways to end the problems along the international boundary.

Groups that are against immigration believe "Mexico is setting up sleeper cells to take back this portion of the United States," she said.

To them, Isabel Garcia, who is the other co-chair of the group Castillo belongs to, "is the queen terrorist of the reconquista," Castillo said. They have even accused Garcia of being a communist, she added.

There is no truth that the idea of Aztlan is to bring back parts of the Southwestern United States under Mexico, she said.

A historian, Castillo said groups such as the American Border Patrol and a militia organization in Tombstone "have no right to talk about the border issue."

Saturday, Glenn Spencer, who is the executive director of the American Border Patrol, said he disagrees.

He said he is stunned that Castillo said he had no right to talk about the border problems. "How can anyone utter such words in the United States of America?"

What is bothering Spencer is a brief that appeared in Saturday's Houston Chronicle.

The brief stated that Mexico's' foreign minister, Jorge Castaneda, said his country would begin a campaign to win U.S. support for a proposal to legalize 3.5 million Mexicans who illegally enter the United States.

Castaneda said Mexican officials will use the nation's consulates to rally unions, churches, universities and Mexican communities to support the idea.

"What's important is that American society sees a possible migratory agreement in a positive light," Castaneda said. "We are already giving instructions to our consulates that they begin propagating militant activities -- if you will -- in their communities," according to the brief in the Texas newspaper.

Spencer said if that is what the Mexican foreign minister is doing, "it is a declaration of war on the United States."

What needs to be done is not chastise groups such as the American Border Patrol, but for people to support it. The best thing for the United States is to have every illegal immigrant rounded up and deported, Spencer added.

It was not only Spencer who came in for a tongue lashing by some of the speakers.

Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever was taken to task for failing to arrest people who have detained illegal immigrants before turning them over to the U.S. Border Patrol.

Pam Sutherland, the legal director of the Arizona American Civil Liberties Union, said the sheriff and the county prosecutor have filed to protect immigrants.

Saturday, Dever said during a telephone interview, "I'm sorry they feel that way."

Again he said all complaints are investigated and the results are provided to the county attorney and the U.S Attorney for Arizona.

None of the complaints have risen to having criminal charges made, the sheriff said.

Castillo and Sutherland said the American Border Patrol and the militia are probably wearing uniforms that can be mistaken for U.S. Border Patrol outfits and they should be charged for impersonating officers.

Spencer said it is true he was along the border Saturday, but "I wore a pair of Levi's and a plaid shirt, and I don't think the (U.S.) Border Patrol has such a uniform."

Dever said the only time a person can be arrested for impersonating a law officer is if they pretend they are a law officer and attempt to act as one.

"They can dress up in a Border Patrol-like uniform for Halloween. While the Border Patrol may not be happy, unless they are pretending to be an actual agent they are doing nothing illegal," the sheriff said.

Cecile Lumer, who moderated the event for the Citizens for Border Solutions, said the group believes there is a need to change the federal government's activities when it comes to the border.

"I've seen fences replaced by walls and walls replaced by higher walls," she said.

Sutherland said the ACLU is looking for test cases to be used to make the U.S. government stop what they are doing along the border, which she said is a detriment to the well-being of immigrants.

Once a person is in the United States, that individual has the same Constitutional rights as an American citizen, she said.

The ACLU has two cases pending before international groups.

Both were filed in 1999 and no action has been taken on them, Sutherland said.

One was filed with the Organization of American States' Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the other with the United Nations Human Rights Commission.

Both filings stated the U.S. government's actions are harmful to immigrants, including those who illegally cross the border, causing deaths.

As for people who claim they have private property rights, Sutherland said while that is true, those rights cannot be used if it harms migrants.

What has to be recognized is that the real case is the United States is actually letting people enter the country to fill jobs and they fall under the category of invitees, she said.

Dr. Julie Schourup, a public health officer, said much has been made about the drain of illegal immigrants on medical facilities.

However, she said, "I believe the immigrant community is being used as a scapegoat."

Information from Cochise County medical facilities do not indicate what is not being reimbursed for the emergency treatment of immigrants, she said.

Castillo said what has to be accepted by American citizens is that for hundreds of years the United States has allowed immigrants from Mexico to do jobs that had to be done for the economic well-being of the country.

"This is not a recent manifestation," she said. "There is a need in the United States for laborers."

The unrecognized reality is "the U.S. economy cannot float without this labor," Castillo said.

Equally unknown is that the economy of cities such as Tucson depend on Mexican shoppers, she said.

"People from Sonora and Sinaloa do more than $950 million of shopping in Tucson each year," Castillo said. "That is why they (businesses) fly the Mexican flag. They love the peso."

Arizona legislator Bobby Lugo said the United States cannot have it both ways -- good economy and treating immigrants improperly.

Too many have died crossing the border illegally and that is socially unacceptable.

Cochise County Supervisor Paul Newman said the turmoil in rural Arizona, especially in the county, is caused by the lack of good policy by the federal government.

He is concerned that the government will do even more militarizing of the border instead of changing policies that are not working.

"We know what is going on in this neck of the woods," Newman said of the people who live along the border.

Instead of armed vigilantes, as he called them, taking measures into their own hands, what is needed is a Civilian Border Corps to work with all federal, state and local agencies on both sides of the international boundary.

The speakers and many in the audience called for Congress to change current border polices, with Castillo saying a real congressional committee meeting needs to be held in Cochise County and not back in Washington, D.C.

She also called for local governments to step up to the plate and address the issue, demanding an end to vigilantism.

Unfortunately, she said, "Vigilantism is as American as apple pie in this part of the world."

After the meeting ended, Shayna Redwine, a Bisbee High School senior, said there has to be better solutions to the border problem than continuing with failed procedures.

While she does not think illegal immigrants should be allowed into the country, Redwine said she is more concerned that the federal government is causing the deaths of those who cross the border. It is estimated that 2,000 border crossers died along the entire border the United States shares with Mexico during the last year.

She, like many in the audience, is a member of the Youth Advocates, a group of students who seek peaceful solutions to the border woes.

Redwine is opposed to armed civilian groups taking matters into their own hands and does not want to see the border have more armed federal officials on it, either.

The best thing to do is to take some of the billions of dollars being used along the border and send it to Mexico to build up their economy, the student said.

One of the solutions discussed by the group was the creation of a Marshall Plan, like the one that rebuilt nation's after World War II. Some believe the United States needs to be involved in nation building in Mexico and other Central and South American nations.

But the main concern for Redwine is the country directly south of the United States.

"We need to help Mexico, not hinder it," she said.

[Spiff]

You bet she's a moron. She's with the ACLU. Castillo is another moron. She's a "Chicano Studies" professor at Pima Community College and a fancier of extreme animal cruelty and Third World vile habits, according to this. And to think that Colin Powell once told those Mexicans that we share a common culture. What a joke. Incidentally, Powell is off to Castillo's wretched homeland tomorrow to chat with that Marxist Castaneda.

Castillo is also a member of the militant La Raza Unida Party.

[Sparta]

The link is to the official paper of Aztlan, the anti-Semetic, anti-American, anti-white La Voz de Aztlan(The voice of Aztlan).

[calenel]

"Mr. President.. JUST SAY NO TO AMNESTY!"

Send letters - real, snail-mail letters - to the President, Vice President, your Reps and Senators. Snail-mail has a greater influence than email and polls. Write up several different versions of the same letter and send a different one EACH DAY. Tell them that they are going to lose your vote if they don't do something to stop the illegal immigrant problem. Tell them that we are on the verge of open warfare on the Mexico border. Tell them you are going to take your vacation on the border and help guard it. Tell them we need the National Guard on the border, defending US soil, NOW. Tell them that if they want to win AZ, CA, CO, NM and TX in the next election they had better solve this problem, NOW.

Just send the letters. Send email, too, if you want, but make sure to send snail-mail. That has the most impact. If you live in a border state, also contact your state government.

[Spiff]

You're right. Sometimes I get my reconquista rat bastards mixed up. Actually, the link was to a book about the La Raza Unida Party that was featured on the La Voz de Aztlan website. The link to the official party website is here

[Tancredo Fan]

Jose Angel Gutierrez is the cockroach who founded La Raza Unida. He's a real piece of work, much like Castillo and Garcia.

[wcbtinman]

If the militia she so despises were all of the things she claims them to be, she would have been silenced long ago.

These are law abiding citizens doing a great service to their country, and that she has the freedom to slander them in public and get away with it is proof enough that she hasn't got a clue.

[HiJinx]

What's really bad is that the reporter put this above the fold on the front page of the local newspaper as news, when it really belongs with the Opinions, 4 pages later.

That's part of my letter to the editor...the other hinges on the 'no crime committed' statement...it wasn't the American Border Patrol who:

1. Robbed a bank and killed everyone in side in Nebraska
2. Robbed and raped 2 nuns in Oregon, killing one
3. Beat and robbed an old couple and stole their truck here in Cochise County
4. Went on a sniping/killing spree that ended in Washington D.C.
5. Flew airliners into American buildings

No, those crimes were all committed by illegals. And I'm sure that's just the tippy-top of the iceberg!

[Spiff]

Presented by the Federal Election Commission

Individual Contributions Arranged By Type, Giver, Then Recipient

Contributions to Political Committees

CASTILLO, GUADALUPE
TUCSON, AZ 85701
PIMA COMMUNITY COLLEGE/HISTORY TE

GRIJALVA, RAUL M     VIA A WHOLE LOT OF PEOPLE FOR GRIJALVA CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE
	05/21/2002	500.00	22991347702
	09/05/2002	260.00	22992206087

Total Contributions:    760.00

[Tancredo Fan]

My, my, my. Turns out that Grijalva is a former member of MEChA, according to this 1997 article in the Arizona Wildcat.

[TigersEye]

Let me see if I've got this right. You want to shoot people with evil 'barbed wire' tattoos. Is that right? Do people with evil snakehead tattoos get a pass?

[philetus]

Once a person is in the United States, that individual has the same Constitutional rights as an American citizen


No, they damn sure don't.

[philetus]

Bush will be in Mexico this coming week to discuss just that.

They are going to legalize millions of illegals, whether we like it or not.

[TigersEye]

Yes, they damn sure do.

[F16Fighter]

"They are going to legalize millions of illegals, whether we like it or not."

IF that happens during his watch, George W. Bush will be known forevermore as the first U.S. President to surrender to an invading army ON HIS OWN TURF.

[TigersEye]

Posts #'s 59 and 68 give good explanations as to why everyones natural rights are secured by the Constitution.

[CWRWinger]

Excuse me, where's the "BARF" alert? This rates as one of the most nauseating articles I've ever seen on FR.

[Spiff]

Here's a glowing article from La voz De Aztlan (the premiere reconquista rag) about Jorge Castaneda, the Mexican foreign minister who says he's going to urge the Mexican consulates within the United States to begin "propagating militant activities" here.

---

.

Jorge Castañeda
Appointed
Foreign Secretary
of Mexico

.

.

.

.

by
Hector Carreon
La Voz de Aztlan

Castañeda will take office on December 1

Los Angeles, California (November 22, 2000) - (ACN) Mexico's President Elect Vicente Fox has appointed the country's foremost political scientist and author of the acclaimed "Compañero: The Life and Death of Che Guevara,'' as its next Foreign Secretary.

Castaneda is one of the most prolific socialist writers in Latin America and has written numerous books and articles for the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, Time Magazine, and Newsweek Magazine. As visiting professor at Columbia, Harvard, Princeton and other Ivy League schools he has earned the reputation as one of the most articulate leftist in the whole of the Americas. He completed his undergraduate work at Stanford University and received his Ph.D. from the Sarbonne in Paris, France.

In his most popular book "Compañero: The Life and Death of Che Guevara,'' Jorge G. Castaneda reconstructs the complicated life of Argentine revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara, explaining how Che ultimately transcended ideology and politics to become a counter-cultural hero and idol of La Raza and many American college students.

Jorge Castañeda, who is read by policy-makers around the globe, has been a senior associate of the Carnegie Institute for International Peace in Washington and also teaches Economics and International Affairs at the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico and in addition has an appointment as Professor of Political Science and Latin American Studies at New York University. It is not clear whether he will resign these positions to devote full time to his new assignment.

Jorge Castañeda is the son of Mexican ex-Foreign Minister Jorge Castañeda Sr. who died at age 76 in 1997. His father bolstered Mexico's role as regional leader. During his three-year tenure, Castañeda Sr. turned Mexican foreign policy southward, nurturing ties with Central America and moving away from U.S.-centered initiatives. But lack of American support doomed his most ambitious project: a 1982 peace plan for war-torn Nicaragua.

The following is a sample of the new Foreign Secretary's writing on US/Mexico relations and immigration:

"....During the NAFTA debate and at the height of his credibility in the United States, Carlos Salinas argued that failure to ratify the treaty would bring about an economic collapse in Mexico, which in turn would bring about a wave of undocumented immigration to the north. The economic collapse came anyway, but the wave looks more like a steadily rising tide. Were the Clinton Administration, in its obsession with re-election politics, to try to stem that tide, it would threaten the only true deterrent to the proverbial wave:Mexican stability. Any attempt to clamp down on immigration from the south -- by sealing the border militarily, by forcing Mexico to deter its citizens from emigrating, or through some federal version of California's Proposition 187 -- will make social peace in the barrios and pueblos of Mexico untenable.

The United States has traditionally made the right choice between what it considers two connected evils: Mexican instability and Mexican immigration. It fears both but clearly prefers the latter, knowing that the former would only worsen matters. Indeed, immigration has not been a problem in binational relations but, rather, has been part of the solution to other, graver problems.

Some Americans -- undoubtedly more than before -- dislike immigration, but there is very little they can do about it, and the consequences of trying to stop immigration would also certainly be more pernicious than any conceivable advantage. The United States should count its blessings: it has dodged instability on its borders since the Mexican Revolution, now nearly a century ago. The warnings from Mexico are loud and clear;this time it might be a good idea to heed them.

La Raza de Aztlan congratulates Jorge Castañeda on this very important assignment by the new government of Mexico. May the countless suffering Mexican migrants crossing the dangerous border region be beneficiaries of Mr. Castañeda's future efforts.

[philetus]

Someone in the U.S. illegally has the same rights as me?

No they do not.I won't be deported.

[nanny]

I have two Bro. Dave records and listen to them every once in a while.

[McGavin999]

Actually, there is a very, very simple way to solve this problem with laws that are already on the books. It is illegal to HIRE an illegal alien. Start enforcing the fines against employers and you'll solve two problems at once. The problem of illegals crossing the border to work, and the budget deficit. Those fines would bring in HUGE amounts of revenue to both the state (Arizona has a mega budget deficit) and federal governments.