To bring some balance to the question of Mexican immigration... ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tom Burghardt" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, June 07, 2000 11:51 PM Subject: [AFIB] Bullets on the Border > > > > _______________________________ > > ANTIFA INFO-BULLETIN > News * Analysis * Research * Action > _______________________________ > > SPECIAL EDITION > - June 7, 2000 - > > * * * > ____________________________________________________________________ > > BULLETS ON THE BORDER: > Far-Right Vigilantes "Sport Hunt" Mexican Migrants > ____________________________________________________________________ > > AFIB Editor's Intro: In addition to this month's Immigration News Briefs > from Weekly News Update on the Americas, I've included a report from the > biweekly, Los Angeles-based La Voz de Aztlan on the heinous violation of > human rights along the US-Mexico border. An unholy alliance of Immigration > and Naturalization (INS) agents, vigilante ranchers and racist groups are > detaining, terrorizing and increasingly, shooting migrant workers in what > media reports describe as organized "sport hunts". Three workers have been > killed and seven wounded since May. One rancher was quoted as saying, > "Humans. That's the greatest prey there is on earth," while Barbara Coe, an > anti-immigrant lobbyist praised the vigilantes for "defend[ing] our borders > and defend[ing] themselves from the illegal alien savages." Unsurprisingly, > the INS and their minions in Congress defend the immigrant-bashers while > calling for "tougher measures"--including the deployment of National Guard > and Army units--to stem an alleged "flood" of "illegals" along the border. > Against a backdrop reminiscent of posses of armed vigilantes hunting > fugitive slaves across the South, the descendants of settler populations > occupying annexed Mexican and First Nations land hunt those who seek to > survive US-imposed economic "reforms". AFIB will continue to update this > story as new information becomes available. > > * * * > > IMMIGRATION NEWS BRIEFS > A monthly supplement to Weekly News Update on the Americas > Nicaragua Solidarity Network of NY > 339 Lafayette St > New York, NY 10012 > Tel: 212-674-9499 > Fax: 212-674-9139 > E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Web: http://home.earthlink.net/~dbwilson/wnuhome.html > Vol. 3, No. 5 - May 2000 > (publication date 5/31/00; sent 6/7/00) > > ----- > ____________________________________________________________________ > > IMMIGRATION NEWS BRIEFS > A monthly supplement to Weekly News Update on the Americas > - Vol. 3, No. 5 - May 2000 - > ____________________________________________________________________ > > CONTENTS: > > 1. May 1: Thousands Demand Amnesty. > 2. Immigrant Foes "Drifting Away"? > 3. Vigilantes Draw "Bigger" Agenda. > 4. Mexico Blasts Xenophobia, US Defends Ranchers. > 5. Ranchers Shoot Migrants in Texas. > 6. Border Patrol Shoots Migrants Too. > > Immigration News Briefs is a monthly supplement to Weekly News Update on > the Americas, published by the Nicaragua Solidarity Network of Greater New > York. A one-year subscription (52 issues) to Weekly News Update on the > Americas is $25. To subscribe to the Update and Immigration News Briefs, > send a check or money order for US $25 payable to Nicaragua Solidarity > Network, 339 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10012. Please specify if you > want the electronic or print version. For information about the Update, > contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] or check out our web site at: > http://home.earthlink.net/~dbwilson/wnuhome.html. Back issues and source > materials are available on request. Separate subscriptions to Immigration > News Briefs are available free by email by contacting: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > If you are accessing Immigration News Briefs for free on electronic > newsgroups, we would appreciate any financial support you can contribute. > We are a small, all-volunteer organization funded solely through > subscriptions and contributions. Feel free to reproduce Immigration News > Briefs, or reprint or re-post any information from them, but please credit > us and include our full contact information so that people will know how to > find us. Send us a copy of any publication where we are cited or reprinted. > We also welcome your comments and ideas: send them to us at the street > address above or via e-mail to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > * * * > > MAY 1: THOUSANDS DEMAND AMNESTY > > On May 1, the National Coalition for Dignity and Amnesty for Undocumented > Immigrants mobilized thousands of immigrants with activities in 20 states > to mark International Workers Day by demanding amnesty. The largest action > was a New York City march attended by several thousand people, most of them > immigrants, with a large percentage from Mexico. Local press reports > estimated attendance at the march at between 1,000 (New York Times) and > 8,000 (El Diario-La Prensa) people. The march was supported by a wide range > of immigrant, labor, human rights and activist groups, including the local > chapters of the Direct Action Network and Reclaim the Streets, groups known > for their creative, nonviolent civil disobedience actions. > > Although all participants had promised to stick to legal activities during > the march, hundreds of riot-clad police agents accompanied the march. In a > preemptive strike at the march starting point, police arrested 19 > anarchists, allegedly for violating an obscure New York state law that > prohibits covering one's face at a demonstration. "They didn't know about > that law, and we collared them up before they got a chance to do their > stuff," the New York Daily News quoted a police official saying. [NYDN > 5/2/00; NYT 5/2/00; ED-LP (NY) 5/2/00; La Jornada (Mexico) 5/2/00; National > Coalition press release 5/1/00; Coalition for the Human Rights of > Immigrants (CHRI) article 5/1/00] Police at the scene also said the arrests > were prompted by the fact that some of the demonstrators were dressed in > garb similar to that worn by activists at protests against the World Trade > Organization (WTO) in Seattle last fall. [Reuters 5/1/00] > > * * * > > IMMIGRANT FOES "DRIFTING AWAY"? > > Anti-immigrant activists in California have abandoned efforts to put a new > version of "Proposition 187" on the November ballot, saying they couldn't > rally enough support from volunteers, politicians and donors. The proposal > would have denied prenatal care to undocumented residents, required proof > of legal residency for driver's licenses and forced schools to determine > how many of its students were undocumented. [Orange County Register (CA) > 4/21/00] > > Republican endorsement of the 1994 measure cost the party support among > Latinos. "In the last six years, we have really regretted [our support of > 187]," said Michael Capaldi, president of Orange County's Lincoln Club, a > Republican group that endorsed Prop 187 but opposed the new version. "It > accomplished nothing but to drive a wedge between Anglos and Latinos. It > didn't create a disincentive for illegal immigration." [Los Angeles Times > 4/22/00] > > "I think the troops are drifting away," said retired teacher Evelyn Miller, > who volunteered on both the 1994 measure and the new version. "We're > frustrated, and we see the pro-illegal- immigration forces winning." [OCR > 4/21/00] Steven Camarota of the Center for Immigration Studies, which > advocates tighter restrictions on immigration, admits his camp is > "completely on the defensive at this point." > > Public sentiment for restricting immigration is at its lowest since 1977. A > 1999 Gallup poll showed 44% of respondents favoring lower levels of > immigration, down from 65% in 1995. Polls by the Pew Research Center > confirm the trend: in 1999, 46% of respondents said new immigrants > strengthen the country, up from 31% in 1994, while 44% considered them a > burden, down from 63% in 1994. [Chicago Tribune 4/3/00] > > * * * > > VIGILANTES DRAW "BIGGER" AGENDA > > Anti-immigrant groups appear to be using controversy over border- crossers > in Arizona to regain political ground. On May 13 a group of ranchers led a > rally in Cochise County, Arizona to discuss a plan of action to deal with > what they call "a Mexican invasion." The number of migrants coming through > the area has surged recently as the Immigration and Naturalization Service > (INS) seals off other crossing areas, and as drought conditions in northern > Mexico push rural workers to seek jobs north of the border. > > The rally attracted some 200-250 people, including anti-immigrant activists > like Barbara Coe of the California Coalition for Immigration Reform and > Glenn Spencer of "American Patrol" and "Voice of Citizens Together." [La > Voz de Aztlan 5/15/00; The Independent (UK) 5/20/00, 5/24/00] Coe blamed > government apathy for forcing ranchers to "defend our borders and defend > themselves from the illegal alien savages." > > Also present were two members of the Arizona chapter of the National > Organization For European American Rights (NOFEAR), a group led by former > Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. Event organizers, saying they did not want > to be linked to racist groups, asked the two to leave. [Los Angeles Times > 5/17/00; Independent 5/20/00; Arizona Daily Star (Tucson) 5/15/00] > > According to the Mexican daily La Reforma, a proposal surfaced at the rally > to place anti-personnel land mines at strategic places along the border > with Mexico in order to deter people from crossing illegally. [LVdA 5/15/00] > > Local resident Ed Wagner boycotted the rally: "As a Hispanic and resident > of Cochise County, I believe that the importation of racists from other > parts of the country to deal with our national problem is only adding to a > problem that is reaching a boiling point." [Independent 5/20/00] > > In a speech at the rally, Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever also alluded > to the outsider presence: "I fear there are people around us that want to > take advantage of us," he said. "I have a fear that there are people with > other agendas. I don't know that they're bad agendas, but they may be a > little bigger than we are." [ADS 5/15/00] > > * * * > > MEXICO BLASTS XENOPHOBIA, US DEFENDS RANCHERS > > At bilateral talks in Washington on May 18, Mexican Foreign Minister > Rosario Green described recent shootings of migrants as "brutal displays of > xenophobia," and urged US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to take > steps to curb the vigilante actions. At Green's urging, United Nations > special envoy Gabriella Rodriguez plans to tour the border area and report > on the confrontations. [Independent 5/20/00, 5/24/00] Albright said US > authorities would strengthen efforts to monitor and, if warranted, > prosecute the ranchers. But she and other US officials said the ranchers > have the right to evict trespassers from their land. > > INS Commissioner Doris Meissner said federal and local authorities are > investigating reports of violence in the border area. But she said there > was no evidence to support Mexican media reports about recent shootings by > vigilantes. [LA Times 5/19/00] At least two Mexicans have been reported > killed and seven wounded recently by vigilantes in Arizona's Cochise > County. [Independent 5/20/00] > > The US and Mexican delegations at the bilateral talks issued a joint > statement calling on local property owners in the region "to stop the > inherently unsafe practices of private detention of migrants." [LAT > 5/19/00] "We are very concerned about what has been happening in Arizona > and we agreed that such behavior was inadvisable and that violence against > migrants was unacceptable," Albright said at the close of the talks. "I > think it's very important that it be totally clear that vigilante justice > is unacceptable." [Arizona Republic 5/19/00] > > On May 18 the US House of Representatives voted 243-183 for an amendment > that would allow the Defense Department, US Attorney General or US Treasury > Secretary to assign military patrols to monitor problem areas along the > border. The amendment was introduced as part of a defense spending bill by > Rep. James Traficant (D-OH). Arizona governor Jane Hull opposes the > amendment, and has turned down a request from the Cochise County Board of > Supervisors to send National Guard troops to help patrol the border. [AP > 5/19/00; AR 5/19/00] > > * * * > > RANCHERS SHOOT MIGRANTS IN TEXAS > > Vigilante violence also appears to be growing in the Texas borderlands > around Del Rio and Eagle Pass. On May 13 in Kinney County, Sam Blackwood, a > retiree from Arkansas, chased Mexican immigrants Eusebio de Haro and Javier > Sanchez off his property, then followed the two in his car and shot at them > as they fled. De Haro bled to death after being hit in the leg from behind. > The shooting took place off Blackwood's property. Blackwood was charged > with murder and released on bail pending arraignment. > > Less than a month earlier, in neighboring Edwards County, Alaska native Coy > Brown allegedly shot Mexican immigrant Mauricio Gonzalez in the back after > telling Gonzalez and two other immigrants to leave his property. Gonzalez > survived; Brown has been charged with assault. > > District Attorney Tom Lee, whose office is in nearby Del Rio, said that > Patrick Glenn Bordelon of Louisiana has been charged in two separate > shootings of Mexican immigrants in the past year near Vega Verde, north of > Del Rio. [Houston Chronicle 5/21/00] One victim was wounded, and the > other--a 16-year old boy--was killed. [CBS 2/17/00] > > "The one common strain that seems to go through this is these people from > other parts of the country are involved in the shootings, not local people > who have grown up on the border or lived here for many, many years," said > Lee. He noted that nearly all the shootings occurred when the victim was a > distance away and walking in the opposite direction. "We take a dim view of > shooting other people in the back out here, I can tell you that," Lee said. > [HC 5/21/00] > > On May 22, hundreds of Mexicans gathered outside the US consulate in > Hermosillo, capital of Sonora, the state which borders on Arizona, to > protest the shootings of migrants in the US. They threatened to sit in at > the Sonora offices of the Mexican Foreign Ministry. [Independent 5/24/00] > > * * * > > BORDER PATROL SHOOTS MIGRANTS TOO > > The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating an incident in > which a Border Patrol agent shot and killed an immigrant on May 21 near > Brownsville, Texas. The agent was trying to apprehend the immigrant, and > fired twice after the immigrant allegedly wrestled his baton away. > [Brownsville Herald 5/22/00; Houston Chronicle 5/23/00] As of May 23, > neither the name of the agent nor the immigrant had been released. [AP > 5/24/00] > > On May 13, Mexican national Jose Vega Bastida was shot and wounded by a > Border Patrol agent just west of the San Ysidro border crossing in > California. On May 25 the Border Patrol admitted that Vega had rolled down > the steep, concrete-lined banks of the Tijuana River and was on the Mexican > side of the border when he was shot. Border Patrol spokesperson Roy > Villareal said Vega threw a rock at an agent who was scrambling back up the > US side. After the rock barely missed the agent's head, the agent's partner > fired at Vega, Villareal said. Both agents involved in the incident have > been reassigned to administrative duties while the Border Patrol, San Diego > police and the FBI investigate. [San Diego Union-Tribune 5/26/00] > > ***** > > LA VOZ DE AZTLAN > E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Web: http://www.aztlan.net > - Vol. 1, Issue 12, June 5, 2000 - > > ----- > ____________________________________________________________________ > > Special Edition > US/MEXICO BORDER CRISIS > ____________________________________________________________________ > > http://www.aztlan.net/bordercrisis.htm > > Los Angeles, California (June 5, 2000) - The situation at the border region > between Mexico and the United States is getting worse by the day and the > peace and good relations that have been enjoyed between the two countries > for decades may crumble at any moment. Never since the Mexican-American War > have tensions been so high between the two northern hemispheric nations. An > emergency now exists that if not addressed properly, could in addition, > gravely affect the large Mexican-American population living north of the > border. > > The principal issue fueling the tensions is the US Government sanctioned > "terrorism" of Mexican migrant workers by the U.S. Border Patrol and armed > vigilante ranchers in Arizona and Texas. There have now been a large number > of disturbing incidents including shootings and murders of harmless Mexican > migrants seeking work in the United States. In addition, scores of Mexican > migrants have now died of thirst in the Arizona desert, have drowned in the > fast flowing currents of the Rio Grande in Texas or have frozen to death in > the mountain regions of California. US. immigration policy has in recent > years "shifted" from "apprehension and return" to one of "deterrence" which > means implementing strategies that put the migrants in situations that will > cost them their lives. It is believed that as part of this deterrence > policy, the US as well as state governments are now giving "license" to > murderous Arizona vigilante ranchers to "hunt" for undocumented Mexican > migrants on their land which in some cases is "leased" by the state to the > vigilante ranchers. > > One notorious vigilante rancher is Roger Barnett who has bragged to the > national media that he has made thousands of arrests of Mexican migrants on > his ranch. It is now known that 80% of what he says is his ranch is > actually "leased" land from the state of Arizona. Mr. Randy Serraglio of > the Southwest Alliance to Resist Militarization (SWARM) conducted research > and prepared a study concerning the true ownership of Roger Barnett's > ranch. Mr. Serraglio's map and the study is now published in La Voz de > Aztlan and can be accessed by clicking the following link: > <barnettranch.htm>Ownership of Barnett's Ranch > > Recently the vigilante ranchers sent out a racist "flyer" throughout the > United States inviting white supremacist groups to come to their ranches to > help them "hunt" for Mexican migrants. Many answered their call including > California resident Glenn Spencer of "American Patrol" and other KKK type > groups. The group of anti-Mexican immigrant elements met in Sierra Vista, > Arizona on May 13, 2000. The day before, two vigilante ranchers on > horseback had ambushed 5 Mexican migrants in the Arizona desert about 8 > miles from Sasabe, Sonora. > > La Voz de Aztlan traveled to the small border town of Sasabe on June 3, > 2000 on a fact finding mission of the incident. In this case, Commander > Pena of the State of Sonora Police Department stated to La Voz de Aztlan > that a young Mexican migrant worker named Miguel Palafox was hit by a high > power "explosive" bullet that entered the upper part of his back and exited > near his ear. La Voz de Aztlan in addition personally interviewed the owner > of Rancho San Francisquito Hector Nido. Mr. Nido drove Miguel Palafox to La > Clinca de Salud in Sasabe after he showed up at his ranch with pretty much > his entire left side of his face barely clinging to the check bone. He > arrived at his ranch at approximately 9:45 A.M. on May 12, 2000. Mr. Nido > stated that he was able to speak to Miguel Palafox during the trip to > Sasabe and that he could observe that most of the blood was by now in dry > lumps and that it gave off a very offensive odor as that of decayed flesh. > > In addition, La Voz de Aztlan interviewed Dr. Adel Aride Lopez who treated > Miguel Palafox and stabilized his medical condition in Sasabe prior to > Miguel being taken to the hospital in Caborca, Sonora by State Police > Commander Pena. Dr. Lopez stated that the bullet wound was serious and that > there were indications that the bullet was "una bala expansiva" which are > bullets designed to explode upon exiting a human body. He described Miguel > Palafox's wound in medical terms and collaborated both Commander Pena's and > Hector Nido's statements. He stated that the bullet blew off enough flash > that the thorax, cheek bone and jugular vein were clearly visible. > > The statements from the three reliable sources paint a very disturbing > picture. Police Commander Pena, Hector Nido and Dr. Adel Aride Lopez spoke > to Miguel Palafox concerning the incident. Putting these statements > together, a reliable picture of the incident emerges. Miguel Palafox stated > to the three sources that he and 4 companions where approximately 8 miles > inside US territory when around 5:45 A.M on May 12, 2000 two "rancheros" on > horseback started firing at the group from about 700 meters away. Miguel > says that the "rancheros" were on horseback and were wearing Arizona style > ranchers hats. He says that he was not able to determine whether they were > wearing "uniforms." Miguel says that he distinctly heard three shots and > that it must have been the third one that hit him. Miguel Palafox states > that he lost consciousness soon after the impact but that he remembers at > least one other companion getting hit and falling to the ground. When he > regained consciousness, he states that he did not see any bodies or the > vigilantes and that he started the 8 mile track to the border and > eventually reached Rancho San Francisquito near Sasabe, Sonora. > > This border incident is of the gravest kind and should be brought up to the > highest world organizations concerned with human rights. None of the direct > sources that La Voz de Aztlan interviewed were ever contacted by the US > media and it makes us wonder how they developed the questionable > information they are disseminating to the US public. Recently the Arizona > press has "muddled" information on the case by publishing another similar > incident that supposedly occurred in the same region seven days later. They > stated that the killing of yet another Mexican migrant was committed by > Mexican "bandidos." Their extensive coverage of this second incident and > ignoring the first has now confused much of the public and has led many to > dismiss the atrocity against Miguel Palafox as the work of border bandits. > > Meanwhile the death toll of Mexican migrants rises and is expected to get > worse as political tensions increase and the weather gets hotter and dryer > in the Arizona desert. A few days ago an 18 year old mother suffered a > tragic death in the Arizona desert. While making the track into the US to > find the father of the months old baby girl she was carrying, she became > ill and her companions decided to go for help to the nearest place. They > left her and her baby under a sparsely leafed tree with the little water > she had left. When her companions arrived with help, the young mother was > already dead and the child was barely alive. The mother had given all the > water to her child and she died of thirst. > > The atrocities and human right abuses of Mexican migrants have now > concerned many people of conscience. They have prompted La Coalicion de > Derechos Humanos to take immediate action to stop the abuses. On June 2 and > June 3, 2000, Derechos Humanos hosted a "Vigil" and a strategy meeting in > Tucson, Arizona that brought in delegations from California, New Mexico and > Texas as well as individual participants from throughout the nation. The > state delegations consisted of leaders of labor, civil rights, student and > religious organizations. One major result of the strategy meeting was a > commitment to hold a "Border Summit" this year in the border region. This > planned conference will increase the major connections that were already > made in Tucson with leaders of indigenous groups and leaders of a wide > ranging set of organizations from throughout the US and Mexico. The "Border > Summit" will further advance the national mobilization underway to seek > justice for the Mexican migrant worker. > > A major component of the "Summit" will be to bring in our best thinkers on > world economic issues in order to completely define and find solutions to > why Mexican migrants are compelled to risk their lives to come to work to > the United States. We need to make connections of the causes of migration > to world economic policies including the polices of the World Trade > Organization, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. We need > to ask questions such as what do austerity measures in Mexico, undertaken > in order to be able to pay the national debt to foreign entities, have to > do with the forced migration of labor to the US. Another important question > that will be answered at the "Border Summit" will be, "Are the chickens > finally coming home to roost?" Are the consequences of imperialist policies > of the past towards Mexico, Cuba, Central and South America finally > manifesting themselves in the form that we are now experiencing at the > borders of the United States? > > * * * > > ANTIFA INFO-BULLETIN (AFIB) > 750 La Playa # 730 > San Francisco, California 94121 > To subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Inquiries: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > On PeaceNet visit AFIB on pol.right.antifa > Via the Web --> http://burn.ucsd.edu/~aff/afib.html > Archive --> http://burn.ucsd.edu/~aff/afib-bulletins.html > > ANTI-FASCIST FORUM (AFF) > Antifa Info-Bulletin is a member of the Anti-Fascist Forum network. AFF is > an info-group which collects and disseminates information, research and > analysis on fascist activity and anti-fascist resistance. More info: > E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Web: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~aff > > Order our journal, ANTIFA FORUM, cutting-edge anti-fascist research and > analysis! 4 issues, $20. 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