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Saturday, May 7, 2005

Mexico may sue reservist in migrant detention

The Associated Press

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MEXICO CITY - The Mexican government is considering filing a lawsuit against a U.S. Army reservist who detained seven Mexican illegal immigrants at gunpoint in Arizona, a Mexican official said yesterday. Prosecutors in Arizona declined to charge the man.

The Mexican government is discussing the lawsuit with a human rights group based in Los Angeles, said Geronimo Gutierrez, the Mexican deputy foreign secretary for North America.

The lawsuit could argue that reserve Sgt. Patrick Haab engaged in assault or illegal detention of the immigrants or caused them mental anguish, Gutierrez said.

"The lawyers are analyzing the best ways to do it," he said in a news conference.

Local prosecutors in Arizona refused to bring charges against Haab in the April 10 case, based on a state law that allows a resident to make an arrest when a felony, including immigrant trafficking, has been committed.

The incident occurred the month in which civilian volunteers began patrolling the border to detain migrants entering the United States illegally in the Minutemen Project.

Haab said he wasn't participating in the project.