An Arizona man who has waged a 10-year campaign to stop a flood of illegal immigrants from crossing his property is being sued by 16 Mexican nationals who accuse him of conspiring to violate their civil rights when he stopped them at gunpoint on his ranch on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Roger Barnett, 64, began rounding up illegal immigrants in 1998 and turning them over to the U.S. Border Patrol, he said, after they destroyed his property, killed his calves and broke into his home.

His Cross Rail Ranch near Douglas, Ariz., is known by federal and county law enforcement authorities as "the avenue of choice" for immigrants seeking to enter the United States illegally.

Trial continues Monday in the federal lawsuit, which seeks $32 million in actual and punitive damages for civil rights violations, the infliction of emotional distress and other crimes. Also named are Mr. Barnett's wife, Barbara, his brother, Donald, and Larry Dever, sheriff in Cochise County, Ariz., where the Barnetts live. The civil trial is expected to continue until Friday.

The lawsuit is based on a March 7, 2004, incident in a dry wash on the 22,000-acre ranch, when he approached a group of illegal immigrants while carrying a gun and accompanied by a large dog.

Attorneys for the immigrants - five women and 11 men who were trying to cross illegally into the United States - have accused Mr. Barnett of holding the group captive at gunpoint, threatening to turn his dog loose on them and saying he would shoot anyone who tried to escape.

The immigrants are represented at trial by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), which also charged that Sheriff Dever did nothing to prevent Mr. Barnett from holding their clients at "gunpoint, yelling obscenities at them and kicking one of the women."

In the lawsuit, MALDEF said Mr. Barnett approached the group as the immigrants moved through his property, and that he was carrying a pistol and threatening them in English and Spanish. At one point, it said, Mr. Barnett's dog barked at several of the women and he yelled at them in Spanish, "My dog is hungry and he's hungry for buttocks."

The lawsuit said he then called his wife and two Border Patrol agents arrived at the site. It also said Mr. Barnett acknowledged that he had turned over 12,000 illegal immigrants to the Border Patrol since 1998.

In March, U.S. District Judge John Roll rejected a motion by Mr. Barnett to have the charges dropped, ruling there was sufficient evidence to allow the matter to be presented to a jury. Mr. Barnett's attorney, David Hardy, had argued that illegal immigrants did not have the same rights as U.S. citizens.

Mr. Barnett told The Washington Times in a 2002 interview that he began rounding up illegal immigrants after they started to vandalize his property, northeast of Douglas along Arizona Highway 80. He said the immigrants tore up water pumps, killed calves, destroyed fences and gates, stole trucks and broke into his home.

Some of his cattle died from ingesting the plastic bottles left behind by the immigrants, he said, adding that he installed a faucet on an 8,000-gallon water tank so the immigrants would stop damaging the tank to get water.

Mr. Barnett said some of the ranch´s established immigrant trails were littered with trash 10 inches deep, including human waste, used toilet paper, soiled diapers, cigarette packs, clothes, backpacks, empty 1-gallon water bottles, chewing-gum wrappers and aluminum foil - which supposedly is used to pack the drugs the immigrant smugglers give their "clients" to keep them running.

He said he carried a pistol during his searches for the immigrants and had a rifle in his truck "for protection" against immigrant and drug smugglers, who often are armed.

A former Cochise County sheriff´s deputy who later was successful in the towing and propane business, Mr. Barnett spent $30,000 on electronic sensors, which he has hidden along established trails on his ranch. He searches the ranch for illegal immigrants in a pickup truck, dressed in a green shirt and camouflage hat, with his handgun and rifle, high-powered binoculars and a walkie-talkie.

His sprawling ranch became an illegal-immigration highway when the Border Patrol diverted its attention to several border towns in an effort to take control of the established ports of entry. That effort moved the illegal immigrants to the remote areas of the border, including the Cross Rail Ranch.

"This is my land. I´m the victim here," Mr. Barnett said. "When someone´s home and loved ones are in jeopardy and the government seemingly can´t do anything about it, I feel justified in taking matters into my own hands. And I always watch my back."

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The outcome of the trial - read on - The rancher was held liable for limited damages involving assault and emotional distress. Two illegal aliens were given $1,000 plus $10,000 in punitive damages each. Two more received $7,500, plus $20,000 in punitive damages each.


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http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/feb/09/16-illegals-sue-arizona-rancher/

Sixteen illegal aliens who sued an Arizona rancher, claiming he violated their civil rights and falsely imprisoned them by holding them at gunpoint on his property along the border, have lost their case.

The federal lawsuit against Douglas, Ariz., rancher Roger Barnett, his wife, Barbara, and his brother, Donald, took place before Judge John Roll in U.S. District Court. A verdict was declared Tuesday. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, or MALDEF, represented the five female and 11 male illegal aliens.

Barnett's attorney, David Hardy, said the judge completely dismissed the cases against Barbara and Donald after the illegals claimed conspiracy.

"There was no evidence," he told WND. "The most they could show about Barbara was that she showed up after the incident, and Donald wasn't even there. He did sometimes cooperate with Roger in turning over illegals, but he wasn't there that day. And there was no proof of conspiracy, so the judge chucked it out."

Many of the aliens are residents of Michoacan, Mexico. Four live in Illinois, one resides in Georgia and another in Michigan. All of the plaintiffs currently living in the U.S. listed pseudonyms in the lawsuit due to "fear of adverse action based on immigration status."

Ten of the illegal alien plaintiffs didn't show up to the trial, but the remaining six said they were given permission to re-enter the United States and testify against Barnett.

"That was a shocker to me. All the ones who testified said that they were here legally and that their attorneys had done the paperwork," Hardy said. "There's nothing like your government backing you."

MALDEF and its attorneys lost track of three of the plaintiffs entirely, Hardy said. The organization hired nine attorneys for the illegal aliens. Three were from big commercial firms in New York City.

The group also flew a psychologist to Arizona from Chicago to testify that the illegal aliens suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.

"We don't know where they're getting their money, but it's a lot," Hardy said. "They dropped $19,000 on the psychologist for his examination and $150 an hour to show up for trial."

He continued, "We tore him up pretty good, though. We tore up all of the other witnesses, too."

The rancher was held liable for limited damages involving assault and emotional distress. Two illegal aliens were given $1,000 plus $10,000 in punitive damages each. Two more received $7,500, plus $20,000 in punitive damages each.

"It's interesting since most of them don't speak English, but they claim that Roger, who has almost no command of Spanish, was able to use full sentences like, 'If you go, my dog is hungry, and he's hungry for your butt,'" Hardy said. "Roger couldn't put that sentence together."

He said the judge left out one part of instruction to the jury that should have been included, and it will be the basis of their appeal.

"The law is skeptical of infliction of emotional distress because everybody gets their feelings hurt at times," he said. "So one of the requirements was that whatever is done must be so severe that the average person would be physically disabled by the distress – suffer a complete mental breakdown. The judge wouldn't put that in the instruction. That's straight Arizona law."

Also, two of the plaintiffs received $1,400, and two were awarded $1 each for assault. The term "assault" is legally applied when a person has simply put someone in fear of a harmful contact. According to the attorney, Barnett did carry a gun, but the judge did not include their self-defense argument in the instructions to the jury – another basis for appeal.

All together, the illegals received only $77,804 of the $32 million they requested – and Hardy believes that award will be thrown out in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

"It was 95 percent victory for us," he said. "What they really wanted were the first two civil rights claims because if they got those, they got attorney's fees. With nine attorneys working on the case, I'm sure their fees were $500,000 to $1 million."

Meanwhile, Hardy said Barnett's ranch is still a hotspot for illegals who want to get into the U.S.

"They all testified that they were going to pay $1,800 per head to get in," he said. "It's right on the other side of the border, across from Douglas, Ariz.

"A guy was telling us that he had seen these dusty cars in Mexico, and they would offer to take you across to the U.S.," Hardy said. "One of them had written in the dust: 'Barnett's ranch.'"

http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=89295

They're ILLEGALS ... ! They HAVE no 'civil rights'. End of story. If they're looking for 'sympathy', it's in the dictionary between 'shitt' and 'syphilis' ...

Dont know what to say,,,,his land and his right to protect it,,,they are fortunate they werent shot for trespassing as many states now allow deadly force to protect property (under the guise of self defense)



should have never seen a courtroom,,,when one is in a car accident without a license,,,its AUTOMATICALLY their fault because the law says if they hadnt been on the road the accident wouldnt have happened and they had no RIGHT to be on the road

I see no diffference here...

Not to mention that they are committing CRIMES other then being in here illegally. Tresspassing, distruction of property etc. I hate La Raza and the ACLU. People cant even defend themselves anymore.

A person can't even protect their own land? These people "destroyed his property, killed his calves and broke into his home."
Has America gone stark raving mad? Are there any sane, sound and reasonable men and women left in this country, especially in Washington D.C., who have even an ounce of common sense left?
This is an outrage!!
I still think we need to put a couple thousand tanks with the manpower to use then on the Southern border.

That's what I would think!



I knew them cattle mutilations were being done by aliens.

article 4 section 4

The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion;

IMO,
Hussein and Napolitano are acting in an unconstitutional manner.

What do ya'll think?

Can they be removed from their positions for not doing their sworn duties?

George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson are rolling over in their graves right now.

Yes they can, when Republican's take back the House and Senate this year!

Unfortunately, the rancher is not THE STATE. Now, if he had called THE STATE and THE STATE send troopers to arrest those people I would have to say the had every right to do so.

But if the state is not doing their job, then I think a man should be able to protect his property and his cows. He can also make a citizens arrest.

Now don't get all party political. We live in America and in The United States of America. This bullsh*** war between Republicans and democrats is really getting old. Its just a distraction from the real issues.

We are being invaded. Our troops are not divided into democrats or republicans.

From what i've read about this that is what he did, he detained them(which you can do under citizens arrest powers) and turn them over to the authorities.

Our troops arn't being devided over 98% of troops are Republican.

is that a FACT or an assumption?

I doubt that HIGHLY.

Yes. Technically 'detaining' in any shape or form is defined as an arrest.

Roger and Barbara Barnett with Border Patrol while they detain illegal aliens on the family's ranch.

Can you imagine trying to sleep at night with so many illegals night after night roaming around in your stuff and sometimes helping themselves to what ever they want to.....

I keep waiting for someone with the ballz to utter the magic word: IMPEACHMENT. This is clearly, at the very least, a BREACH OF CONTRACT for failing to uphold his SWORN statement to: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.". People sometimes refer to this as his 'Oath Of Office' - or just 'OOO' ... Either way, he - and his appointees - have NOT lived up to their oath(-s). Time for impeachment.

I wonder what is so horrible about their own country that they would want to come here and wander around in someone's back yard.

I do feel sorry for them. They are humans, after all. Much better than an invasion from extraterrestrials who want to drink our blood.

Well ... now who's following who ... ? I'm so confused ... flattered, but confused ...