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Immigration See other Immigration Articles Title: State weighs grazing lease renewal opposed by border activists State weighs grazing lease renewal opposed by border activists Paul Davenport Associated Press Writer The state Land Department is considering potential liability to the state as it decides whether to grant a grazing lease renewal requested by a Cochise County rancher who has gained notoriety for detaining illegal immigrants on land near the U.S.-Mexico border. A human-rights advocacy group, the Border Action Network, on Thursday protested the department's possible renewal of a grazing lease for nearly 14,000 acres of state trust land controlled by rancher Roger Barnett's REB Enterprises LLC. "Our argument is the state Land Department should revoke the lease not only for his vigilante activities" but for also confronting hunters at gunpoint, said Jennifer Allen, director of the Border Action Network. A state legislator who participated in the Border Action Network's protest said the state is already on notice about Barnett's actions and could not dodge legal liability for his actions on state land. "The state will have no ability to claim ignorance," said Rep. Krysten Sinema, D-Phoenix. "He is not the only vigilante in Arizona but he is the most well known and one of the most frequent offenders. Douglas resident Ronald Morales also said Barnett's renewal should be denied. Morales previously filed a lawsuit accusing Barnett of confronting Morales and four other people, including three children, at gunpoint while the Morales group was hunting on trust land in mountains east of Douglas. "At some point this has got to stop," Morales said. Barnett did not immediately return calls placed Wednesday and Thursday to his Sierra Vista towing business. Grazing leases require leaseholders to obey the law but the department is unaware of any criminal prosecutions of Barnett, according to Deputy Commissioner Richard Hubbard. "He has not been convicted of any crime," Hubbard said. "What we are doing is examining the allegations and are going to consult with our risk-management folks and our attorneys general to determine if the allegations pose enough of a potential liability risk to put the state at risk." Because the 10-year renewal period is considered short term, it is not required to go to auction, Hubbard added. The lease was to expire Thursday but Barnett legally has the right to keep using the leased land until the department makes a decision on his renewal application, Hubbard said. Barnett has said in the past he detained and turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol numerous illegal immigrants on his family's ranch about five miles north of the border city of Douglas. Arizona has become a crossing point for hundreds of thousands of migrants annually, and the flood of undocumented people has drawn several armed civilian groups that act as self-appointed border watch organizations.
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#1. To: All, *The Border* (#0)
Barnett's never been charged or convicted of any crime. This "Border Action Network" is protecting criminals, the illegals and trying to punish law-abiding citizens like Roger Barnett.
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