Lessons From The Ranch Rescue Fiasco
By Juan Mann
VDare
http://vdare.com/mann/050906_ranch_rescue.htm
September 06, 2005
In the unfolding history of citizen groups keeping watch
against the illegal alien invasion on the Mexican border, the
undisputed All-American Patriot hall of fame so far includes
Jim Gilchrist's Minuteman Project, Chris Simcox's Minuteman
Civil Defense Corps, and Glenn Spencer's American Border
Patrol . . . while the border hall of shame remains the sole
province of the hapless Ranch Rescue.
Though arguably the first to organize help for private border
landowners, Ranch Rescue's leaders were recently chewed
up and spat out by one of the Treason Lobby's most vicious
attack dogs-none other than Morris Dees' Southern Poverty
Law Center (SPLC) and the Mexican American Legal
Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF).
The New York Times's Andrew Pollack reported on August
19 all the gory details of how Ranch Rescue founder Jack
Foote, along with his sidekick Casey Nethercott-previously
convicted of felony assault in California, it turns out-both
failed to answer tort claims filed against them by the SPLC,
as the result of their botched 2003 "Operation Falcon" in
South Texas. [2 Illegal Immigrants Win Arizona Ranch in
Court]
When the smoke had cleared, Foote had an outstanding
legal judgment over his head, Nethercott wound up in jail on
a gun charge (as a convicted felon, he wasn't supposed to
possess one), and Nethercott's sister lost an Arizona ranch
property to the SPLC's plaintiff illegal aliens.
But the SPLC's trouncing of Ranch Rescue nevertheless
provides a valuable, although extremely costly, case study
for all future efforts of border-watchers, both on public and
private land. The misadventures of Foote and Nethercott
illustrate what NOT to do in running a private border watch.
[NOTE: I previously covered Ranch Rescue before its
implosion here and here; and noted its happier days with
Soldier of Fortune magazine here.]
So for the benefit of all border-watching Minutemen, past,
present and future, I offer these lessons learned from Ranch
Rescue:
* Beware the tort claim! All personal injury lawsuits-tort
claims-are serious business and MUST be answered, as well
as defended vigorously by the best lawyer you can
afford...and then some. Not answering a claim filed against
you is the only sure-fire way to LOSE a case, and leave
yourself open to virtually unlimited liability for injuries, real or
imagined, dreamed-up by the plaintiffs.
* If sued, HIRE AN ATTORNEY! The fact that Foote and
Nethercott did not hire an attorney to respond to the SPLC's
personal injury claim on behalf of the illegal aliens was
absolutely mind-boggling. When hiring legal counsel, the
attorney must be licensed in the state where the lawsuit was
filed, and be experienced with that state's laws relating to
personal injury, citizens' arrest provisions, firearms
regulations, or anything else relevant to the case.
* If you're ever touched, harmed or assaulted, sue the
bastards! If while conducting Minuteman duties, the Treason
Lobby's "protesting" rent-a-mob street thugs ever so much as
land one drop of spittle on you, they and their organizational
handlers have just opened themselves up to the same kind
of tort liability as suffered by Ranch Rescue. So fight fire with
fire! If you're ever kicked, spat upon or otherwise harassed
by the street provocateurs of "tolerance," sue the specific
Treason Lobby organizations that brought them out to harm
you-and the horse they rode in on.
* Don't hire felons. It would be a good idea for border-watch
organizers and/or private landowners to conduct some type
of background investigation on all border watch volunteers.
So in order to protect your bank account from liability, Rule
#1 should be to tell previously-convicted felons to take a
hike. It's just not worth the risk. (See below.)
* Property owners: don't let yahoos on your land. There
was one particular item from the New York Times, almost
completely lost in the Ranch Rescue furor, which was even
more amazing to me than the loss of Nethercott's land to
illegal aliens. The real story: the fact that the Texas ranch
owner who invited Foote and Nethercott on his property
settled his part of the SPLC lawsuit for $100,000 rather than
face an even greater exposure to liability in court. Where
there's smoke, there's fire.
The rancher's settlement is a pretty good indication that
there was indeed something rotten with Operation Falcon.
The Texas rancher's $100,000 loss here screams out to all
border landowners: "Know your Minutemen." Don't let
anyone on your property unless you do have the highest
level of confidence in their professionalism, competence and
restraint.
* Don't touch the aliens. Glenn Spencer's Border Cam,
video-camera-laden UAVs, as well as the Minuteman
Project's trademark binoculars and cell phone (note the
updated colonist logo on their web site) have avoided all of
the problems associated with the murky area of citizen's
arrest law. Bravo! The how-to of detaining a trespasser or a
suspected thief, whether on your own property or not, is a
legal minefield of state-specific codes and case law. Ranch
Rescue's choice not to adopt a "no contact" rule opened
them up to tort claim liability . . . and they paid the price.
* Be vigilant! In doing the jobs that the American
government won't do, Minutemen (and women) must bear all
the risks as well as the rewards of a job well done. But no
one ever said that stopping the illegal alien invasion was
going to be easy.
The extraordinary phenomenon of private citizens peacefully
defending their country's border when the federal
government failed to do so has been the single greatest
victory for immigration reform since California's Proposition
187 in 1994.
This is a mortal threat to the Treason Lobby. It will respond
with unscrupulous viciousness. It can be beaten-but it has to
be handled with extreme care.
Godspeed, Minutemen!
--
Illegal aliens are just "hard working people trying to make a better
life for themselves by doing the jobs that Americans won't do." And
so are bank robbers, terrorists, rapists, killers, kidnappers, bums
and thieves. Illegal aliens aren't criminal invaders. They're just
undocumented workers and bank robbers are just unauthorized
people making early withdrawals.
How many different kinds of laws do illegal aliens get to break
without penalty? Robbery? Rape? Assault? Drug smuggling?
Kidnapping? Hijacking? Child abuse? Domestic violence? DUI?
Speeding?
EUPHEMISMS FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS: "undocumented,"
"undocumented workers," "undocumented foreigners,"
"undocumented immigrants," "undocumented person,"
"undocumented Mexicans," "undocumented Mexican immigrants,"
"immigrants," "illegal immigrants," "illegal residents," "illegal
workers," "unauthorized workers," "foreign-born," "foreign-born
workers," "foreign-born inmate,""foreign-born newcomers," "lower-
wage illegal workers," "migrant workers," "alien absconders,""guest
workers," "border crossers," "foreign nationals," "Mexicans,"
"Mexican nationals,""Mexican-born expatriates," "Hispanic
immigrants," "Spanish speakers," "Hispanics," "under-banked,
under-served population," "newcomers," "illegal newcomers," "poor
immigrants," "entrants," "Hispanic Community citizens," "border
jumpers," "visitor," "Latinos," "people," "day-laborers," "visa
overstayers," "alien residents," "asylum applicants," "faithful
citizens," "foreign students," "individuals,""UDA," "illegal entrants,"
"residents," " illegal border-crossers," "people."
ILLEGAL ALIENS PRODUCE: overcrowded and under-funded
schools, tuberculosis, rubella, leprosy, chickenpox, malaria, dengue
fever, west nile virus, hepatitis, lice, poverty, unemployment,
lowered wages, increased violent crime and illegal drugs,
environmental degradation, depletion of natural resources, loss of
common language and culture, increased traffic, taxes.
Arrest and deport all illegal aliens and potential terrorists.
------- End of forwarded message -------