By: Daniel Nardini
In the dead of night at the U.S.-Mexico border, a group of 20 to 30 undocumented men were making their way by truck from Mexico to the United States. Suddenly, a group of what these undocumented described as white men dressed in camouflage uniforms appeared out of the darkness and fired semi-automatic weapons at the undocumented group. Two of the undocumented were instantly killed, and the rest escaped as fast as they could. Over the last ten years, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raids on Klan and neo-nazi groups had uncovered bombs and whole arsenals of guns that were meant to be used “at the border.” What is concerning state and federal law enforcement and certainly Latinos is the emergence of white vigilante groups all along the U.S.-Mexico border who may be using deadly force to kill men, women and children.
We do not know how they may be organized, nor who are running such groups. But this is not the first time that such an incident has taken place. There are a growing number of people in law enforcement who fear that white supremacist groups are arming, training and helping white vigilantes murder undocumented people along the border. Among the problems of dealing with this is that the U.S. Border Patrol, the FBI, and other federal and state agencies cannot guess who these people are and where they will strike. Because the U.S.-Mexico border is a big area, it is almost impossible to know who may be at the border, and where anyone who is armed may strike. One thing we do know—whoever these people are seem to know the border area well. They also tend to leave know witnesses. One instance, Shawna Forde, the founder of the Minuteman American Defense, shot and murdered an entire family of Latinos in Arizona. The father managed to survive and later testified against Forde.
Is it possible that a number of white supremacist groups have created or turned into assassination squads against the undocumented? In their endeavor to keep America “white,” there can be no doubt that some people may go to such lengths such as murder and mayhem. We have to realize that if such extremist, racist organizations commit such violence within the United States, then why not on the U.S.-Mexico border? All I can say is that it is adding a new and terrifying dimension to all of the problems on the U.S.-Mexico border.
The Vigilante Shadow
By: Daniel Nardini
We do not know how they may be organized, nor who are running such groups. But this is not the first time that such an incident has taken place. There are a growing number of people in law enforcement who fear that white supremacist groups are arming, training and helping white vigilantes murder undocumented people along the border. Among the problems of dealing with this is that the U.S. Border Patrol, the FBI, and other federal and state agencies cannot guess who these people are and where they will strike. Because the U.S.-Mexico border is a big area, it is almost impossible to know who may be at the border, and where anyone who is armed may strike. One thing we do know—whoever these people are seem to know the border area well. They also tend to leave know witnesses. One instance, Shawna Forde, the founder of the Minuteman American Defense, shot and murdered an entire family of Latinos in Arizona. The father managed to survive and later testified against Forde.
Is it possible that a number of white supremacist groups have created or turned into assassination squads against the undocumented? In their endeavor to keep America “white,” there can be no doubt that some people may go to such lengths such as murder and mayhem. We have to realize that if such extremist, racist organizations commit such violence within the United States, then why not on the U.S.-Mexico border? All I can say is that it is adding a new and terrifying dimension to all of the problems on the U.S.-Mexico border.