DOUGLAS - Rhetoric along the Mexican border here is rising, with a heavily armed group of residents declaring war on the Mexican military, and the mayor thinks chances are rising that someone will get hurt.
The next time a Mexican soldier sets foot on the small chunk of border property owned by a Ranch Rescue member group, members plan to open fire, their leader said.
"Two in the chest and one in the head," warned Jack Foote, president of Ranch Rescue, a civilian group that patrols in search of illegal immigrants and drug smugglers. He said his group is protecting the rights of property owners.
Chances are rising for an international shootout, thanks to patrols along the Cochise County border by people other than law enforcement, said Douglas Mayor Ray Borane.
"This isn't a game," Borane said. "That's the thing that has always worried me, that these people would cause an international incident and not only hinder relations with Mexico, but that they'd make this area become a hotbed for other organizations like that."
According to the Arizona Revised Statutes, trespassing alone does not justify use of deadly force. Deadly force is allowed in self-defense, to protect another person from harm or to prevent certain crimes, including burglary, murder, assault, arson of an occupied structure and armed robbery.
The Border Patrol counts a border "incursion" as a sighting, contact or physical evidence of entry into the United States by a foreign law enforcement official between official ports of entry, said agency spokeswoman Gloria Chavez.
Between 200 and 250 incursions have been documented in the past five years, not counting accidental crossings, said U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, a Republican from Colorado and outspoken advocate of militarizing the border.
That figure is compiled from law enforcement agencies along the Canadian and Mexican borders. Tucson Citizen archives show four reported incidents since 1997 in southern Arizona.
Since October, seven military incursions have been reported to the U.S. Border Patrol along both borders, Chavez said.
Posted by Suzanne at February 17, 2004