IMMIGRANT AGENCY

A.     Where is home base (city/state/country)?

            The agency I picked is called “Ranch Rescue”. Its home base is in Douglas, Arizona.

B.    What is key constituency or audience?

             They hold a position against Mexican immigrants. Their web page is based on quotes (from Benjamin Franklin, Jack Foote…), events and stories about Mexicans trying to cross the border. They deliver their message to an audience that feels a lot of anger towards illegal immigrants.

C.     What are the agency’s main activities?

              The agency consists of a group of volunteers that want to keep Mexicans outside the U.S. They do this through various operations, many times even armed.

D.     Mission statement? Key goals?

              Their mission is clearly stated on their home page: “Dedicated to defending and preserving the private property rights of individual Citizens".

E.      What are key im/migration issues of concern to this agency?

               Many of their stories are about American citizens that have their ranches on the border and that have been assaulted or kidnapped by illegal immigrants. Ranch Rescue is a volunteer group composed by people who believe that when government fails or refuses to act, individual citizens are obligated to act on their own.

F.      What is the most common basis for statements issued, agency’s research, press releases, etc.?

               They work to preserve and protect the individual private property rights of all our nation's citizens, regardless of race, color, creed, or religion. In many of their statements, they use derogatory words such as “Mexican Criminal, terrorist alien, drug dealer, border crosser, robber, carjacker, killer, kidnapper…

G.     Is the agency noticeably pro or con immigration?

                 They are clearly against immigration and they are willing to fight illegal immigrants: “There exists a law, not written down anywhere, but inborn in our hearts; a law which comes to us not by training or custom or reading; a law which has come to us not from theory but from practice, not by instruction but by natural intuition. I refer to the law which lays it down that, if our lives are endangered by plots or violence or armed robbers or enemies, any and every method of protecting ourselves is morally right" (Marcus Tulius Cicero).

H.     Any publications?

                  Although they don’t have any publications, they sell books that explain why immigrants are bad news.

I.        Names of key spokespersons/officers

                  Rescue Ranch’s spokesman is Jacks Foote. On their web site a few quotes and interviews with him can be found.

J.       Give at least one citation of this group in a news report.

                   Furthermore, they have many articles on their web site, from “Newsmax (4 December 2003 "Kidnapped by the Mexican army), Arizona Daily Star (19 December 2003 "Criminal alien home invasion), Seattle Times…”; and a video from their interview on ABC News.

K.    Other issues of interest?

                   They believe so much in what they’re doing, that they decided to go international by helping the border patrol in South Africa.

L.      Web site? Give URL

                   They can be visited at http://www.ranchrescue.com/index.htm