The Associated Press reports that during a recent incident along the southern border, Border Patrol agents who were pulling immigrants from a canal were approached by group of seven armed militiamen who never identified themselves as such.
Agents assumed the camouflaged crew that joined in pulling the immigrants from the canal’s milky green waters was a tactical unit from the Texas Department of Public Safety. Only later did they learn that the men belonged to the Texas Militia, a group that dresses like a SWAT team and carries weapons but has no law-enforcement training or authority of any kind. [...]
“How do they identify themselves? Do they have badges? How do we know who they are?” asked J.P. Rodriguez, a spokesman for the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office. “If they’re all just dressed in camos, it’s kind of hard to distinguish whether they’re law enforcement or not. … There’s a lot of potential for stuff to go wrong.”
The AP reports that the situation ended without any shots fired, but what about next time? What if the next group of militiamen intend to shoot?
Apparently the Border Patrol has asked themselves the same question because following this incident they issued a memo warning agents that the militia is out there.
The Southern Poverty Law Center recently issued a report on the Texas Militia who, judging by the looks of things, are big fans of Call of Duty. They also use code names to avoid identifying themselves.
There is absolutely no good that can come from having unnamed, unidentified, and armed militiamen patrolling the border.