Mexico Weighs Lawsuit Against U.S. Army Reservist Who Detained Migrants The Associated Press
Published: May 6, 2005
MEXICO CITY (AP) - The Mexican government is considering filing a lawsuit against a U.S. Army reservist who detained seven undocumented Mexican migrants at gunpoint in Arizona after U.S. prosecutors declined to bring charges against the man, a Mexican official said Friday.
The Mexican government is discussing the lawsuit with a Los Angeles, California,-based human rights group, Mexican Deputy Foreign Secretary for North America Geronimo Gutierrez said.
The lawsuit could argue that reserve Sgt. Patrick Haab engaged in assault or illegal detention of the Mexican migrants, or caused them mental anguish, Gutierrez said.
"The lawyers are analyzing the best ways to do it," he said in a news conference.
Local prosecutors in Arizona refused to bring charges against Haab in the April 10 case, based on a state law that allows a citizen to make an arrest when a felony - like migrant trafficking - has been committed.
The incident occurred the same month in which civilian volunteers began patrolling the border to detain migrants entering the United States illegally in the so-called Minutemen Project.
Haab said he wasn't participating in that project.
I'm not real worried about the mental anguish of those folks participating in felony crimes.