Updated
Michelle points to a Daily Bulletin report that will outrage a lot of people. The US Border Patrol is under orders to keep an eye out for the Minutemen and report their locations to the Mexican government. Read on:
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.
What rights is the spokesman referring to? The right to violate our laws? The right to ignore and violate US sovereignty?
“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.”
[snip]
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.”
Our US Border Patrol, following orders from the US government, is in cahoots with the Mexican government to help more illegals cross our borders. The US Border Patrol is supposed to protect US borders from illegal crossings, not encourage them. I thought this issue couldn’t possibly get any more out of control. I was wrong.
Update: Hot Air is covering this as well.
Others covering this story:
Confederate Yankee thinks Bush’s border policies are impeachment worthy.
The Uncooperative Blogger says this policy is treasonous.
LGF calls this the outrage of the day.
John Hawkins at Right Wing News is disgusted that the US government is deliberately undermining its own immigration laws.
Publius Rendezvous says this is an indictment on our sovereignty.
Again, to have an honest discussion, racism should not be evoked by any person on any side. It pretty much kills the discussion.
Leigh, considering you wrote about it in the first line of your post that I referenced, I didn’t read the rest of it. Your bolded sometimes didn’t come until later.
I made the word sometimes bold in my original comment exactly for this purpose — even though I knew it would be ignored by some bigot anxious to make a point
That’s nice, make the assumption that I’m a bigot while trying to pretend to make a point.
I checked all of mantis’s links, but fail to be convinced the “evidence” of “widespread” racism is there.
However there does appear to have been tolerance to racist members by these reports, I am not convinced by the evidence presented that it is widespread, and members displaying overt racist behavior seem to have been vetted. But I’m just going by the reports – teasing the facts out of the broad generalizations that infer more than the facts seem to support.
I am not convinced by the evidence presented that it is widespread, and members displaying overt racist behavior seem to have been vetted.
Yeah, I don’t know how widespread it is either, but it does seem that these groups tend to attract some people of this persuasion.
For the record I don’t really care about the Minutemen. They don’t seem to be doing any harm, though I doubt they’re going to have much of an impact. And even if there are racists among them, so what? Being racist isn’t illegal, and as long as they aren’t shooting people or breaking other laws, I have no problem with them. Wouldn’t want to hang out with them….but people have a right to think whatever they want, and spend their days staring at the desert if that’s their thing.
Twok-
I guess your theory is possible. But I don’t think the govt. at large much less either one of the parties are that good at foresight. I’ll still stick with the usual reasons for the actions of both partie’s elites-short term thinking/gains (at the expense of their bases, even more with the Reps.)
REMEMBER THE ALAMO!
Hmmm.
Frankly the most absurd, and incredibly amusing, aspect of all this is the absolutely desire of the Democrats to impeach Bush on anything and everything … EXCEPT illegal immigration.
ROFLMAO!
If the Democrats began impeachment proceedings against Bush for failing to secure the borders in a time of war, they’d actually get a number of conservatives to support them. Perhaps not in Congress where politics is king. But a lot of rank and file conservatives are pretty angry about the border situation and the issues with illegal aliens.
Frankly the only way an impeachment could actually happen is if the conservatives are on board, and yet that cannot happen because the Democrats simply cannot bring themselves to initiate impeachment proceedings based on border security.
…
So tantalizingly close, and yet so far. Almost within their grasp, and yet impossibly distant. An impeachment issue that would result in a successful impeachment, and yet one that they could never initiate.
I wonder if this scenario has confronted the Kos-Kids yet?
Excellent observation ed.
Remind me to buy stock in Zantac and Ambien, as the heartburn and sleepless nights are likely to increase…
Hmmm.
Utter bullshit.
In order for any charge of racism to have any basis whatsoever then actual racism is necessary. The argument of the day isn’t against Mexicans, which frankly is a *nationality* and not a *race* since there are several races within Mexico proper, but against *illegal aliens* regardless of race, color, creed, nationality or shoe size.
I frankly don’t give a damn if an illegal alien pisses standing up or sitting down. Eats with chopsticks or not. Has dark skin or light. Or goes by the name Jose, Joseph, Frank or John.
I don’t care who they are. Where they came from. Why they’re here. What they’re doing here. Where they live. Where they work. Or what they enjoy doing on weekends or whether or not they enjoy walks at sunset along a beach.
They’re illegal aliens and I want them the hell out of here.
And all of this complete nonsense about “racism” is just plainly garbage being spewed by liberals who have no real plan, objection or argument. And since you don’t have an argument, you pull out the charge of “racism” to cover the fact that your position is one of absolute weakness.
So if you’re going to tar me with that charge of “racism” then do so directly. But trying to engage in strawman tactics by limply associating me with some third party, that you alone assert has “racist” undertones, is total bullshit.
So if you’ve got a direct charge to make, then have the courage to stand up and make it. If not, then shut the f**k up because you’re wasting my time.
ed,
Well said (er, written).
Our government has fostered the undocumented worker “industry” for so long President Bush sought to codify a “guest worker” program.
Angst over deporting an undocumented dishwasher making minimum wage (or less, under the table) in a greasy dive in Fresno California is not about “national security” nor is it about “border integrity”. Those hot buttons are being used by racists to promote rounding up them illegals and shipping them off.
Imagine the diversion of law enforcement resources it would take to round up 12 million + illegals! Federal agents pulled away fom borders and ports and airports to chase poor people through the alleys of East L.A. so we can send them back to Mexico… only to have them reappear on U.S. soil a week or two later.
The total impracticality of the suggestion shows there is emotion, not rational thought, behind the screams for action.
Sometimes that emotion is bigotry.
Lee
Why all the angst over such an obvious strawman ‘argument’?
Nobody has suggested that we have to ’round up all 12 million illegals and deport them’ in order to make our borders more secure and improve our immigration policy.
After we make our borders more secure, we’ll start to catch the illegals in drips and drabs and deport them as we catch them. No big deal if we don’t get them all.
You’re reaching.
And think of the money law enforcement will save in the long run, even if we only deported 10,000 or so a year.
Hmmmm.
@ Lee
Here’s a clue for you Lee. In order for there to be racism, there has to be a question of race. If race is irrelevant, then there is no racism.
Got that?
You must have missed that memo because you’ve been writing that same nonsense.
Just saw the Border Patrol chief agent for the San Diego sector on O’Reilly flatly deny that the Border patrol gives out the location of any civilians (Minutemen). What he said was that anytime they arrest an illegal, and the illegal makes a claim of mistreatment, that information is passed on to the Mexican authorities, in accordance with current treaties with Mexico.
Andrew C. McCarthy has an article on this story over at NRO: http://corner.nationalreview.com/. The DHS official that McCarthy talked to denied that any information about how the illegal was detained is given to Mexican authorities because it is law enforcement sensitive.
The Border Patrol has asked that the original story be retracted. If DHS’s version is true, the right will have reacted to this the way the left reacted to the NSA story.
Since the genesis of the original story came from the head of the Border Patrol union, I wonder if there are those within the Border Patrol (like the CIA) that have their own agenda and are willing to spread a little misinformation. Time will tell what the facts are. Unfortunately, the damage is done.
i think border control should shoot anyone who comes 10ft within the border line thats not american