Border Vigilantes illegally detain migrants on the US Mexico border in this recent undated photo. The OAS Inter-American Commission has agreed to hear the case filed by the Border Action Network concerning Arizona and the US Governments refusal to reign in these trigger happy groups
Inter-American Commission Takes on Human Rights Case Against U.S. for Not Prosecuting Border Vigilante Groups
Residents of Douglas, Arizona recall Minutemen driving through their small downtown area randomly asking people walking down the street if they had “papers.” Since those early days of border vigilante groups patrolling the border and border towns, harassment and racial profiling has continued. Currently, a Minuteman member faces charges for murdering an Arivaca, Arizona man and his child this summer.
The Border Action Network, an Arizona-based human rights organization, believes that the U.S. government should be held to task for turning a blind eye to the groups. “Anti-immigrant vigilantism continues to plague Arizona and the border region,” explains Jennifer Allen, Border Action’s Executive Director.
“We tried everything possible to get local, state and federal officials to address rights violations and criminal behavior of these groups who act like they are above the rule of law. We found that no one had the courage or political will to prosecute them. In some cases, we found collusion between the government and vigilantes.”
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