Presses CBP About Reportedly Telling Mexico the Locations of Citizen Patrols

Washington, May 17, 2006 -  Representative John Carter (TX-31) joined colleagues in asking the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) about its policies in dealing with the Mexican government in regards to border protection groups such as the Minutemen. The concerns raised in the letter follow reports that CBP is telling the Mexican government the locations of civilian border protection groups such as the Minutemen.

“Keeping our border secure and Americans safe is a top priority of mine,” Congressman Carter said. “I am concerned by reports that our own government is alerting Mexico about efforts to deter illegal immigration. I believe we must continue to use all legal resources available to see that illegal immigration into our country is being controlled, and ultimately halted. If Mexican police are being told about the location of citizen patrols within our borders, it very well may be compromising the security of American citizens.”

We are writing in response to an article in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and reports on various media outlets that stated that the U.S. Border Patrol has been informing the Mexican government of the locations of Minuteman and other similar U.S. citizen patrols. It is our fervent hope that these reports are inaccurate as it would be extraordinarily disturbing to know that the U.S. government were taking this action to undermine the legal actions of its own citizens. In fact, given the Mexican police’s fabled corruption and lack of interest in basic human and civil rights, this story’s allegations would cause me grave concern if true.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Mario Martinez told the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin of Ontario that the policy is meant to assure the Mexican government that migrants' rights are being observed. Whether the allegations raised in the article are the official policy of CBP, a number of questions must be answered about the CBP policies in relation to the work done by the Minutemen and similar groups. We would appreciate your prompt response to the following questions:

1) Does the CBP itself or through any other US agency notify the Mexican government of the location of Minutemen and other similar citizen border patrols?

2) Does the CBP itself or any other US agency notify the Mexican government of the detention of any Mexican alien who illegally crosses the border into the US?

3) Is it the CBP’s standard practice to notify the Mexican government of the detention of any Mexican alien who requests an interview with his government’s consul or who alleges assault or battery in his detention? If so, does that standard practice apply to an alien and consul of any nationality or is it pursuant to a specific treaty or agreement with the Mexican government?

4) Does the Vienna Convention apply under the circumstances detailed in question #3, above?

5) Given the increasing prevalence of these citizen border patrols, has the CBP sought to work out any agreement or arrangement with the groups organizing the patrols to ensure that the assistance of the groups is maximized and the rights of the American citizens participating in them are fully protected? If so, what is the outcome of the contact? If not, are there plans to do so?

We appreciate the hard work of the men and women who patrol our borders and believe that allegations such as those reported in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin are harmful to their credibility with the American public. Those brave patrolmen need to be able to work with the citizen patrols – it is a matter of safety for all of the people concerned.