"We don't know who these people are," said Maria Cordero, an ACLU
community organizer who lives near the Rio Grande. "They're carrying
high-powered weapons. It makes us feel less safe, not more safe, to have
them here. I just hope they leave soon."Even some of the
militia volunteers themselves have left the camps, which were set up
during the summer to stem the tide of migrants flooding across the
border in recent months, over safety and legal concerns.
Rob
Chupp, who helped organize a recent border crossing "shutdown" that drew
just five people, said he left Camp LoneStar after a Border Patrol
officer fired gunshots at a convicted felon carrying a firearm on
patrol.
"We asked several of the guys to leave that we found out
were felons," Chupp told the Southern Poverty Law Centers Hatewatch
blog. "We have a Second Amendment to protect your right to bear arms,
but we are also a nation of laws - and there's a reason we don't let
felons own guns."
Chupp said he and some other militia
volunteers voiced their concerns about the possibility that felons were
illegally carrying guns at the camp.
"It came to be a problem,
and it was loud, and 'We don't care what the gun laws are,' and, 'If we
want to have this weapon even if it's illegal, we're going to have it,'"
Chupp said. "It just turned south, and we pulled out."
Militia members also posted video of themselves detaining three migrants after they crossed the border.
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