Armed militia patrolling border near Sunland Park: ‘Border Patrol asked us to come here’

The United Constitutional Patriots, a small group composed mostly of veterans, has made its way down to the U.S.-Mexico border near Sunland Park, New Mexico to “keep the border secure. ”

Armed with weapons, the group has set up camp near the border fence for nearly a month. ” This country was built on three things: God, guns and guts. That American flag has to keep flying, ” said United Constitutional Patriots Commander John Horton, ” It’s in danger, a lot of danger right now. ”

Horton said the group has weapons for self-defense. ” We don’t want Rambos . We don’t want someone down here just to create a problem, ” Horton said. ” We’re not going to have any shootings. We’re against it. We are armed for our own protection. ”

The group said it alerts Border Patrol agents when it encounters asylum seekers or undocumented immigrants. Its members told ABC-7 they are aware they are not allowed to detain anyone.

Viper, a veteran who declined to be identified, told ABC-7 the U.S. Border Patrol asked them for help. ” The Border Patrol asked us to come here. So we decided this is where we’re going to build our base camp and we’ll run it from here, ” the veteran said.

A spokesman with the U.S. Border Patrol disputes the claim.

“We work with other federal agencies. Private groups like these, we typically don’t reach out to. I don’t know if that statement is accurate, ” said Border Patrol Agent Jose Romero, “I don’t believe it to be accurate at this time. ”

Romero told ABC-7 any private citizen has the right to visit public lands to observe. “That’s fine. As long as they don’t interact with and try to get involved in the midst of the immigration process, or enforcing the laws on the border. That’s our job, ” said Romero.

Romero said Border Patrol agents have not had any issues with the group. He said they call the agency if they encounter migrants.

Horton said the group relies on donations to operate. It plans to have a presence in Sunland Park until President Trump builds his proposed border wall.

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; color: #454545} p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; color: #454545}