You can be a communist, devoted to the overthrow of the US Constitution, and the ACLU will embrace you. You can be a Nazi, and the ACLU will leap to your aid. You can be a card-carrying al-Qaeda terrorists, and the ACLU will defend your rights. But if you support increased border security and the suppression of border-jumping, and the ACLU will throw you out of the organization.

The board of a section of New Mexico's American Civil Liberties Union has been suspended because a member was involved with an alleged vigilante program.

The ACLU's New Mexico leader suspended the board of the state's southern chapter pending a new election, the Albuquerque Journal reported.

The move came after board member Clifford Alford was asked to resign because he was involved with a group that planned a civilian patrol of the U.S.-Mexican border. Alford refused to step down.

Since there's no way to remove just one board member the entire panel was suspended.

Alford claimed the ACLU did not talk with him about the civilian program. He said a group established along the lines of the Minutemen would respect the civil rights of any immigrant found.

ACLU New Mexico Board President Gary Mitchell told the Journal: "We're not going to tolerate anyone depriving anyone of liberty without due process of law, not going to tolerate vigilante groups on the border without speaking out against them, and without monitoring."

But wait – the Minutemen are not a vigilante group. They patrol the border and report border-jumpers to the appropriate immigration authroities. Their methods are those of your local Neighborhood Watch group. There is no violation of due process rights – unless one also believes that calling the police on someone breaking into a home is a denial of due process.

What has clearly happened here is that the ACLU doesnÂ’t like having its people stray from the bounds of knee-jerk liberalism. And while the organization has every right to determine its membership and officers, it certainly seem to be acting in contradiction of its alleged principle of defending political speech and activities which are protected by the Constitution.

Posted by: Greg at 01:16 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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