Thread: BorderPatrol disputes news stories about reporting Minutemen

http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=4885374&nav=HMO6HMaY

Border Patrol disputes news stories about reporting Minutemen activity
May 10, 2006 10:34 AM CDT

The U.S. Border Patrol is disputing news reports published Tuesday that said the Border Patrol is alerting Mexican officials when civilian border patrol groups detain or allegedly mistreat suspected illegal immigrants.

The story was originally reported by the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin of Ontario, California.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Washington, D.C., issued a statement Tuesday disputing the report.

"Border Patrol does not report activity by civilian, non-law enforcement groups to the government of Mexico," according to the statement. "During a detention of a legal or illegal immigrant that produces an allegation of improper treatment, Border Patrol reports the allegation and allows the appropriate consulate to interview the individual in custody."

"If an alien is encountered by a Minuteman or arrested by the Minuteman, then we will allow that government to interview the person," Martinez told the newspaper.

The Border Patrol's policy is meant to assure the Mexican government that migrants' rights are being observed, U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Mario Martinez told the newspaper.

The Daily Bulletin's managing editor, Jeff Keating, said Tuesday the newspaper stands by its story.

Citing interviews with Border Patrol agents and documents on a Mexican government Web site, the newspaper reported agents notify Mexican authorities when members of civilian groups such as the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps apprehend or allegedly use violence against border crossers.

The report also cited three documents on the Web site of the Mexican Secretary of Foreign Relations that say Mexican consulates are in close contact with Border Patrol officials regarding the safety of border crossers who have been stopped by civilian groups.

T.J. Bonner, president of the Border Patrol agents' union, said members have long complained that the Mexican government has undue influence over U.S. enforcement policies.

"That's not a legitimate role for any foreign nation," Bonner said.

Martinez did not immediately return a message left Tuesday by The Associated Press, and an after-hours call to the Mexican embassy in Washington, D.C., was not immediately returned.

Minuteman members said any contact between the Border Patrol and Mexican officials negates the group's effectiveness and could endanger the lives of its members.

This is the second time that someone has been ratted out and Bush has been in the vicinity. Do you think there is fire coming from that smoke?
So now he tries to cover it up by just flat out lying and calling everybody else a liar.

Hey remember a couple of weeks ago Homeland Security was rounding up illegal immigrants left and right. Gee what happened. Homeland has gone dark. Hello??? Is any body home?

http://dailybulletin.com/news/ci_3803897

Officials disclaim Bulletin 'tipping' report
By Sara A. Carter, Staff Writer

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is refuting a Daily Bulletin report that the U.S. Border Patrol provided information to the Mexican government about the whereabouts of civilian border watch groups.

"Today's report by the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, `U.S. tipping Mexico to Minuteman patrols,' is inaccurate," read the statement issued Tuesday evening. "Border Patrol does not report activity by civilian, non-law enforcement groups to the government of Mexico."

Kristi Clemens, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection, would not elaborate on the agency's statement other than to say the U.S. gives information to Mexican officials under the rules of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963, which provides foreign nationals being detained by a government the right to consular access.

"This is the same agreement that protects United States citizens when they travel to foreign countries," according to the statement.

An August 2005 document, "Third Report on the Activities of Vigilantes" -- posted on Mexico's Secretary of Foreign Relations Web site -- suggests U.S. officials were giving out more details than required by the Vienna Convention. Part of that information was the location of U.S. citizens participating in volunteer border patrols.

The Daily Bulletin reported on the contents of that document and two others on the Mexican Web site in a story published in Tuesday's editions.

Mexican consulates also went beyond the boundaries of the Vienna Convention, asking U.S. Border Patrol officials to provide them with information on "vigilantes" operating along the U.S. border, according to the August 2005 document.

Some of the information cited in the Mexican document originally was given only to U.S. Border Patrol and law enforcement officials, border watch organizers said.

"Nobody but law enforcement and Border Patrol knew where we were at," said Andy Ramirez, chairman of the Chino-based nonprofit group Friends of the Border Patrol. "So how is our base address on a Mexican government document dated last August? Nobody, not even media, had this information."

Ramirez said he revealed the location of his base camp only to local and federal officials. The Mexican document gives the exact location of his group's site, which was on private property near San Diego.

According to Ramirez, the group had no encounters at that site with undocumented migrants, which would have been the only cause for that information to be revealed under the Vienna Convention.

On Monday, Mario Martinez, a U.S. Customs and Border spokesman, told the Daily Bulletin that when illegal immigrants are apprehended in the U.S., they have the right, under the Convention, to be represented by their country's consulate office and to information regarding their apprehension.

Information contained in a Border Patrol agent's field report, which is filed when a person is caught, would reveal the location of the detainee and therefore the area where the volunteer group is operating, Martinez said.

Martinez did not deny that information on the border volunteers was being shared with the Mexican government. He added that the group's whereabouts also were identified by numerous media outlets.

However, the Mexican report also contains specific information on civilian groups operating much farther inside the United States.

For example, the document notes that 50 Minuteman volunteers work in Chicago, focusing mainly on employers who hire illegal immigrants.

Minuteman volunteers said specific information -- such as the number of volunteers and their plans -- could have been provided only by law enforcement officials at that time. The document credits the various Mexican consul general offices in the U.S. with providing the information to the Mexican Foreign Secretary for the reports.

"How did they know the number of volunteers in Chicago? And why should the Mexican government care?" asked Connie Hair, spokeswoman for the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps in Washington, D.C.

The three reports on the Mexican Web site documented the activities of the civilian groups based on concerns the Mexican government had about volunteer patrols on the border in 2005, said Rafael Laveaga, spokesman for the Mexican Embassy in Washington, D.C.

"The Border Patrol does not report activity of the Minutemen to the Mexican consulate," Laveaga said. "But it's all a matter of perception. If a migrant requests to have counsel, which is their right under the Vienna Convention, then the information is provided to the counsel."

Throughout the Mexican government's reports on "vigilantes," it is noted that Mexican consulates in the U.S. contacted Border Patrol officials seeking U.S. cooperation in reporting instances of civilians monitoring the border. Among such requests:

The Mexican consul in Presidio, Texas, asked the Marfa Sector's Border Patrol chief to alert them if the U.S. detected any volunteer activity.

In Phoenix, consulate officials asked the Border Patrol to notify them if civilian groups apprehended any undocumented migrants so consulate representatives could interview them.

In San Diego, the document referred to a meeting with Border Patrol Chief Darryl Griffen stating that "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 migrant."

"It appears the border reports are the tip of the iceberg," said Chris Simcox, founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, which began patrolling the border last April.

Such requests from Mexico, and U.S. officials acquiescing to them, are not new, say Border Patrol agents.

Scott James, a former Tucson agent, resigned after eight years of service in February, citing a lack of support for agents by the Department of Homeland Security.

He said that U.S. Border Patrol officials provided office space inside their headquarters to Mexican consulate officials, allowed the consulate to dictate the agents' activities, and gave the consulate information on ongoing investigations.

Such courtesies were not extended to consulate offices of other countries, James said.

Sara A. Carter can be reached by e-mail at sara.carter@dailybulletin.com or by phone at (909) 483-8552.

ALIPAC, where can we obtain a copy of Migrant's Rights? Have we requested this from the government?

The treachery of this filthy, corrupt GD administration knows no bottom or limits. Since Asa Hutchinson, Under Secretary of DHS in the Tom Ridge era, reportedly told Border Patrol agents in a memo to stand down and refrain from performing their duties because it would insinuate "racial profiling" on the behalf of the Border Patrol and DHS and reflect badly on the White House and Bush; I have no doubt the Bush administration's hand-picked Border Patrol top dog lackey cooperated hand in hand in passing along the locations and numbers of Minutemen volunteers to the Mexican government and the Mexican military, thereby placing these brave American's lives in danger. Bush and his filthy allies are traitorous subhuman garbage. Jorge should be handcuffed, shackled, thrown into a van, deported, and dumped along with the rest of the illegal trash he conspires with.

Originally Posted by CaptainAmerica

The treachery of this filthy, corrupt GD administration knows no bottom or limits. Since Asa Hutchinson, Under Secretary of DHS in the Tom Ridge era, reportedly told Border Patrol agents in a memo to stand down and refrain from performing their duties because it would insinuate "racial profiling" on the behalf of the Border Patrol and DHS and reflect badly on the White House and Bush; I have no doubt the Bush administration's hand-picked Border Patrol top dog lackey cooperated hand in hand in passing along the locations and numbers of Minutemen volunteers to the Mexican government and the Mexican military, thereby placing these brave American's lives in danger. Bush and his filthy allies are traitorous subhuman garbage. Jorge should be handcuffed, shackled, thrown into a van, deported, and dumped along with the rest of the illegal trash he conspires with.

All of you must understand that this treasonous approach to illegal immigration is the result of a scheme to create a "North American Union" similar to what exists in Europe. See these links:

http://www.cfr.org/publication/8102/

http://www.trilateral.org/nagp/regmtgs/ ... bson02.pdf

Note that nobody EVER asked the American People if this is what THEY wanted!


George362

Welcome George!