Three Senate Democrats wrote a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland asking him to order the Department of Justice to investigate different militias who have been patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border amid the ongoing crisis.
"For years, unlawful paramilitary organizations have engaged in unofficial border missions — reminiscent of Ku Klux Klan border patrols — intended to illegally detain and harass immigrants. These activities undermine legitimate government authority and threaten public safety," Sens. Ed Markey (MA), Elizabeth Warren (MA), and Corey Booker (NJ) wrote in their letter to Garland and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, according to The Hill.
"Recently, many paramilitary groups have stepped up their efforts, creating an escalating crisis that must be a priority for both the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Justice," the letter continues.
The letter specifically names Veterans on Patrol (VOP) and Patriots for America (PFA) as examples of the racist militias patrolling the border.
PFA leader Sam Hall told Townhall the senators' accusations of their militia having racist motives are wrong, nearing defamation, because they work hard to intercept people who illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border and provide aid to them when the situation calls for it while waiting for law enforcement to arrive.
"It's slanderous...I don't know if there is going to be legal that can be taken there or not," Hall said. "We got plenty of media out there that have our mission, our message, and what we do, but it seems like none of these so-called journalists decided to include any of that in their [letter] stories."
Hall said his members, who often encounter families and small children, have never had to point their weapons at people, but they carry rifles, not just handguns, because the southern border is a dangerous place since there are other unsavory characters who also illegally cross. The group operates out of Texas, typically patrolling in the Rio Grande Valley or near Eagle Pass.
Hall says since they can't prevent people from crossing over into the U.S., his members do what they can to help with making sure law enforcement, mainly Border Patrol, is able to intercept them. He further pointed to how they have given food and water to desperate individuals, along with praying with them. Hall added the families usually are happy to see his group because they want to turn themselves in, "the gotaways, the people who don't want to be caught, the drug smugglers, the human traffickers, they avoid us like the plague. Those are the ones we're focused on...those are ones that are a lot more sneaky in what they do."
Hall says his group does not work with VOP and does not know much about them. More than anything, Hall said while he is confident the DOJ will find no wrongdoing from PFA, it's the process who having to through an unjustified investigation that is taxing for a group who funds their trips by fundraising.