With 1000s of illegal immigrants crossing the US-Mexico border every day (perhaps even more now some of the border has been washed away [5]), the government quietly dumping them in Tennessee [6] (among other places), and current (recently constructed border protection infrastructure already breaking down), it appears the American people are taking matters into their own hands. Photos showing dozens of members of militia groups on the U.S.-Mexico border carrying semi-automatic rifles and wearing masks, camouflage and tactical gear provide one of the first glimpses into the group's activities on the border. The groups, including Oathkeepers, Three Percenters and Patriots, began recruiting and organizing more than a month ago and recent Facebook entries provide more color on their perspective: "You see an illegal. You point your gun dead at him, right between his eyes, and you say, 'Get back across the border or you will be shot.' ...We are not worried about an 'International' incident."
It appears the American people is growing frustrated as the government's inaction... or in some cases action...
As Fox reports, [6] the Obama administration recently released 760 illegal immigrant children to sponsors in the Volunteer State without any warning, the governor charged.
There was not so much as a text message or tweet.
“It is unacceptable that we became aware via a posting on the HHS website that 760 unaccompanied children have been released by the Office of Refugee Resettlement to sponsors in Tennessee without my administration’s knowledge,” the governor wrote in a strongly-worded letter to President Obama.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement says sponsors are typically a parent or relative who can care for the illegal immigrant child while their immigration case is processed. All sponsors are required to undergo background checks.
It’s also unclear why the ORR is handling the children – since they are illegal immigrants and not refugees.
It’s been the Obama administration’s standard operating procedure to release the illegals into states without notifying local or state government officials.
And the current government-provided border protection infrastructure is already breaking down...
An unusual amount of rain that ravaged parts of southern Arizona also knocked down 60 feet of the rebar-reinforced steel fence that divides the U.S. and Mexico.
[7]
The storms began Friday in Sonora, Mexico, and resumed Saturday night until Sunday morning, when debris from the Mexican side of the border traveled through a wash and piled up against the border fence. The fence, just west of the Nogales-Mariposa Port of Entry near Interstate 19, stood between 18 and 26 feet high and extended at least 7 feet underground.
...
The fence was built in 2011. It is constantly monitored by agents because smugglers and others who attempt to cross illegally routinely try to breach or knock down parts of it.
"It had a lot of water behind it, and it just pushed the fence straight down," said John Hays, floodplain coordinator for the Santa Cruz County Flood Control District. "If you're fencing is tight enough to catch debris, it basically becomes a dam. It's not meant to withstand those loads of water."
Hays said the fence appears to have floodgates, but they did not open.
So a number of locals have taken the challenge upon themselves. As Chron reports, [8] photos showing dozens of members of militia groups on the U.S.-Mexico border carrying semi-automatic rifles and wearing masks, camouflage and tactical gear provide one of the first glimpses into the group's activities on the border.
Members of the militia groups, who say they have 10 active "teams" along the state's southern border, are seen at campsites, walking along the Rio Grande River, pointing rifles and pistols out of frame and flipping off the camera in the photos obtained by the San Antonio Express-News.
A spokesperson for the group provided the photos under the condition that members' faces be blurred because of fear of being identified by "cartel and gang members."
...
The groups, including Oathkeepers, Three Percenters and Patriots, began recruiting and organizing more than a month ago, as national media outlets began focusing on an influx of Central American immigrants illegally crossing the border, including more than 50,000 unaccompanied minors.
...
Some Facebook comments from members of the militias indicate the groups are not fearful of using force.
"(Rules of Engagement) is if in fear of bodily injury, weapons free, if fired upon, return fire. Real simple," member KC Massey posted along with a photo on Facebook. "We are not worried about an "International" incident if they shoot at us."
In an interview with the Express-News, Chris Davis, commander of the militia's "Operation Secure Our Border: Laredo Sector", who is seen in some of the photos, said members would secure the border in a "legal and lawful manner."
However, in a since-deleted 21-minute YouTube video of Davis, he said: "How? You see an illegal. You point your gun dead at him, right between his eyes, and you say, 'Get back across the border or you will be shot.'"
State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, denounced the militia groups in a statement, saying "pointing guns at children solves nothing."
"Local law enforcement and federal border patrol agents have been clear. The presence of these outside independent militia groups does nothing to secure the border; it only creates an unsafe situation for law enforcement officials that are protecting our communities. Unfortunately, the vile rhetoric of my opponent inspires misguided efforts," said Van de Putte, who is running against state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, for lieutenant governor.
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