Researchers say an anti-government convoy that headed to multiple sites along the southern border over the past week has invigorated extremists, as has dehumanizing, racist rhetoric from conservative politicians stoking fear about migrants.

A Tucson migrant-aid shelter has had to boost security after being targeted for harassment by multiple right-wing media personalities.

鈥淚t has now required Pima County to put more security around that facility,鈥� said Pima County Supervisors Chair Adelita Grijalva. 鈥淢any of the people that are at Casa Alitas are volunteers. Many of them are older. We鈥檙e always concerned for everyone鈥檚 safety and want to make sure people feel comfortable.鈥�

Over the last month, Humane Borders has seen a spike in efforts to destroy its water stations, which aim to prevent migrant deaths in the Southern Arizona desert.

鈥淚t comes in waves. We had a wave last spring and now it鈥檚 back,鈥� said Laurie Cantillo, board chair for the Tucson nonprofit. The group鈥檚 water barrels have been drained, shot and stabbed. Vandals have kicked off or removed the spigots to prevent access to water, written 鈥減oisonous鈥� in Spanish on the barrels and toppled the tall blue flags which mark the stations.

Those water stations are available to anyone in need 鈥� whether migrants, hikers or hunters 鈥� in dangerously remote areas, Cantillo said.

鈥淓veryone is welcome to it,鈥� she said. 鈥淭o deny water to someone, knowing another person may die as a result, I don鈥檛 have any words except to say that鈥檚 pure evil.鈥�

In Yuma County last week, local law enforcement braced for the Feb. 3 arrival of the 鈥淭ake Our Border Back鈥� convoy, a highly publicized series of rallies promoted by anti-immigrant and anti-government groups, some of whom claim to be part of 鈥淕od鈥檚 Army.鈥�

Yuma County Sheriff Leon Wilmot said local law enforcement was working with emergency services and Border Patrol to ensure Saturday鈥檚 rally would be safe for the community.

As of late Saturday afternoon, about 700 convoy vehicles had arrived in Yuma County, though more were expected, said a public affairs official with the sheriff鈥檚 office. The estimated 1,400 attendees were gathered to hear speeches at an outdoor event space, with a view of the border wall.

Planners and supporters of the convoy are elevating conspiracy theories about humanitarian volunteers and pushing the racist 鈥淕reat Replacement鈥� theory 鈥� which asserts there鈥檚 a secret plot to replace white populations with non-white populations 鈥� and terminology like 鈥渋nvasion鈥� to describe migrant arrivals.

鈥淭his convoy has animated the far-right, anti-immigrant movement,鈥� said Freddy Cruz, a researcher with the pro-democracy advocacy group Western States Center, in a Thursday press call. 鈥淲e hope both elected representatives and community leaders stand together to oppose such actions, which only fuel hate and put marginalized communities in danger.鈥�

In the call, Cruz highlighted the targeting of Arizona aid groups, including the Samaritans, Humane Borders and No More Deaths.

Pima sheriff briefed on fears

Local aid workers say they鈥檝e been alarmed by the 鈥渇rightening鈥� rise in these confrontations with armed vigilantes. They鈥檙e also concerned about being 鈥渄oxxed鈥� 鈥� having identifying information shared widely online, to encourage harassment 鈥� by live-streamers who are publishing videos of volunteers鈥� faces and vehicles, while falsely accusing them of being pedophiles and traffickers.

On Thursday, members of the Samaritans sat down with Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos to discuss their fears and ask for support.

鈥淚 appreciate what they鈥檙e doing, which is taking care of people in need,鈥� Nanos said after the meeting. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e staying out of the politics. They鈥檙e giving them water and giving them food. They are not taking them into the country. In fact most of the time, they just sit there (with migrants) and contact Border Patrol.鈥�

The surge in aggressive encounters is partly driven by politicians using the border to score political points in an election year, Nanos said.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 not going to die down as long as the border is being politicized the way it is,鈥� he said.

Gail Kocourek, a long-time volunteer with Tucson Samaritans, said aid workers were reassured by Nanos鈥� empathy and the suggestion that volunteers communicate their schedule and locations with his office, so deputies can be ready to respond.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 frightening about them (vigilantes) is they carry guns; we carry water,鈥� said Kocourek, who spends three days a week at the border providing water, food and blankets to migrants and reporting their presence to border agents.

Armed vigilantes have screamed at her, telling her she鈥檚 a pedophile and is on the cartel鈥檚 payroll, Kocourek said, adding with a laugh, 鈥淭hey must have the wrong address, because I鈥檝e never gotten a check.鈥�

Experts say the risk of extremist violence is real, especially as more right-wing media personalities amplify baseless conspiracy theories, seizing on anxiety about migration to fundraise and boost their social-media followings.

In 2022, Kocourek was at the border south of Arivaca with a film crew, including a Guatemalan man who was a legal permanent resident, she said. A truck driven by QAnon adherents spotted the man and drove up beside her car, screaming, 鈥淚llegal alien!鈥� and attempted to run her off the road, until they were intercepted by Border Patrol.

The QAnon group then published a video asking their social-media followers to track down Kocourek, whom they described as 鈥渞unning ops for the cartel.鈥�

When people ask what she鈥檚 afraid of at the border, Kocourek says it鈥檚 not the exhausted, desperate migrants she encounters who cause her to worry.

鈥淚t鈥檚 white guys with guns,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey seem to thrive off of fear and hate. ... I鈥檓 sorry they鈥檙e so afraid. But I鈥檓 afraid of them.鈥�

Harmful political rhetoric

Across the U.S., anti-immigrant sentiment is on the rise, fueled by a surge in migrant arrivals, rampant misinformation and an escalation in dehumanizing rhetoric 鈥� especially from U.S. politicians 鈥� that experts on extremism say puts migrants, and U.S. citizens of color, at risk.

Some conservatives are embracing language like 鈥渋nvaders鈥� and 鈥渇ighting-age men鈥� to describe migrants. In December former President Donald Trump said immigrants are 鈥減oisoning the blood of our country,鈥� echoing white supremacist rhetoric and the writings of Hitler.

Last month Republican state Sen. Janae Shamp of Goodyear introduced a bill, SB1231, that would make it a state crime in Arizona for anyone to enter the U.S. other than at a port of entry and authorize local or state police to enforce the law.

Shamp told Capitol Media Services, 鈥淲hat was once an issue is now an invasion.鈥� She did not respond to the 蜜桃影像AV鈥檚 request for comment on her use of the term.

Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, a Republican running for Kyrsten Sinema鈥檚 U.S. Senate seat, has also stirred anger against the non-government organizations or NGOs that contract with local governments to provide temporary shelter for migrants released by border agents as legal asylum seekers. Lamb falsely claimed migrants were given $5,000 Visa cards, cell phones and free plane tickets in a December video posted to X, formerly Twitter.

Lamb did not respond to the Star鈥檚 request for comment about whether he stands by his comments in the video, which has more than 226,000 views but has been repeatedly .

Rafael Barcel贸 Durazo, Consul of Mexico in Tucson, said the Mexican government is 鈥渧ery concerned鈥� about how rising anti-immigrant sentiment endangers people of Mexican descent in the U.S.

He pointed to the 2019 mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, which killed 23 and injured 22 others. The shooter鈥檚 manifesto decried an 鈥渋nvasion鈥� of Mexicans, and he told police he was targeting Mexicans.

鈥淲ords matter. The violent discourse on migrants matters,鈥� Barcel贸 Durazo said. 鈥淭hat is going to make life not only of migrants, but also of people of Mexican origin, much more dangerous in the United States and we are concerned because of that.鈥�

Education on immigration law and history is needed, as uninformed news consumers are easier to manipulate, Barcel贸 Durazo said.

鈥淭he merchants of fear are going to profit from people that don鈥檛 want to take some time and effort to understand the migratory process,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 simpler, and lucrative, for some people to dehumanize migrants. It takes time and effort to understand what is going on in migration, and it鈥檚 easy to succumb to simpler narratives that are misleading.鈥�

He pointed out that today, many 鈥渆conomic migrants鈥� are Americans moving from the U.S. to Mexico to take advantage of the low cost of living. Parts of Mexico City have been transformed by legions of 鈥渄igital nomads鈥� who鈥檝e arrived since the pandemic.

鈥淭hey are making that decision for economic reasons,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a natural thing.鈥�

Casa Alitas targeted

Workers at Casa Alitas shelter in Tucson and its partners in Nogales were recently targeted by right-wing activist James O鈥橩eefe, who falsely claimed in a Jan. 17 video, filmed in front of Casa Alitas鈥� Drexel Center, that he was uncovering a 鈥渟ecret鈥� facility that 鈥渘one of the American people knew about until now.鈥�

O鈥橩eefe鈥檚 video 鈥� which Elon Musk amplified by commenting underneath it twice 鈥� has been viewed nearly 3 million times on X.

Another right-wing media group, Oreo Express, later filmed more videos there, posting them to 50,000 YouTube followers. In the clips, the group falsely asserts the facility is a 鈥渉uman trafficking center鈥� and accuses a Tucson police officer, who asks them to stay off private property, of 鈥渞efusing to investigate human trafficking.鈥�

In reality, the supposedly 鈥渟ecret鈥� site has been in the news for months, throughout Pima County鈥檚 very public process of purchasing it, said Grijalva, chair of the Pima County Board of Supervisors.

Without the work of Casa Alitas, in close coordination with Border Patrol and the county, Tucson and smaller border communities would be facing large numbers of unsheltered migrants on the streets, county officials say.

The online attacks are another example of propagandists falsely attributing nefarious motives to easily explainable events, Grijalva said.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not being secretive about it. We鈥檝e had elected officials, community groups, volunteers walk through Casa Alitas,鈥� Grijalva said. 鈥淭hat is the frustration and the fear, when you have these people that have ulterior motives make it seem as if Pima County or the government is trying to do something sneaky.鈥�

Aid workers targeted

Along the border, east of the S谩sabe port of entry, volunteers have been providing water, food and blankets to asylum seekers whom human smugglers have dropped off in the remote area, only accessible over rough, hilly terrain.

In December, No More Deaths put up tents and built a rugged kitchen in the remote location, to store supplies and to provide some shelter for migrants, who faced life-threatening conditions while waiting overnight in freezing temperatures and heavy rain for border agents to arrive, volunteers said.

Right-wing activists have targeted the camp in recent weeks. In another January video from Oreo Express, streamed live to thousands of followers, the live-streamers taunt the volunteers and falsely claim they鈥檙e terrorists, pedophiles and child traffickers 鈥� as well as Communists, Marxists and 鈥渕entally ill.鈥� They also accuse Border Patrol agents of being 鈥渋n bed with鈥� aid workers.

In some videos, streamers express outrage about openings in the border wall in Arizona, attributing the gaps to the Biden administration鈥檚 so-called 鈥渙pen borders.鈥�

In reality, gaps in the border wall were left open by hurried construction crews during the Trump administration and are now being closed under the current administration, said John Modlin, chief of Border Patrol鈥檚 Tucson Sector.

Wall construction under Trump was focused on covering a lot of ground as quickly as possible, Modlin said.

鈥淲hen there were challenging areas, those areas were skipped over to go further and get more of the border wall constructed,鈥� he said.

Now remediation of those gaps, many of which require time-consuming erosion control, is underway, he said.

鈥淪ome people see some of that, they see the construction equipment and maybe think they鈥檙e removing fence, instead of putting it in there. But that is the closing of those gaps,鈥� he said.

Human smugglers in Mexico also routinely cut through the wall鈥檚 30-foot bollards with power tools. And at various points along the wall, floodgates are installed as a necessary means of disaster prevention: During monsoon season, heavy rains and debris would damage or topple the border wall, if it weren鈥檛 for gates that allow powerful floodwaters to flow southward.

Christie Hutcherson, founder of Women Fighting for America and a collaborator with Arizona militia groups, has also been targeting Arizona aid workers and migrant-aid groups. In a Jan. 30 nighttime video that Hutcherson posted online from Arivaca, Arizona, she鈥檚 wearing night-vision goggles and a helmet, claiming to be exposing 鈥渋llegal activity within NGOs.鈥�

In a separate Jan. 31 video 鈥� filmed by a local aid worker and shared with the Star 鈥� Hutcherson aggressively questions Tucson Samaritan volunteers and migrants as they wait for border agents to arrive at the border wall, east of S谩sabe.

Hutcherson, who spoke at the pro-Trump rally on the eve of the Jan. 6 riots in D.C., accuses one volunteer both of being responsible for migrant deaths in the desert and of 鈥渁iding and abetting鈥� terrorists and traffickers. While filming on her phone, Hutcherson asks the migrants, who sit silently, at least six times within five minutes, 鈥淲hat Middle Eastern country are you from?鈥� and 鈥淲hat Arabic country are you from?鈥�

According to the Western States Center, 鈥淗utcherson has alleged children are being trafficked throughout the U.S. with the help of CBP, the Biden administration and other government agencies. During her 2021 border operations, she frequently intercepted and detained unaccompanied migrant children.鈥�

In a statement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the agency that oversees Border Patrol, said that forcibly detaining migrants 鈥渃an also be viewed as a criminal offense.鈥�

鈥淐BP encourages individuals 鈥� from hikers, hunters, humanitarians to citizen groups 鈥� to notify us of their planned activities in remote areas or locations where illegal cross-border activity occurs in southern Arizona,鈥� the statement said. 鈥淐BP does not endorse or support any private group or organization from taking matters into their own hands as it could have disastrous personal and public safety consequences.鈥�

In the Jan. 31 video, Hutcherson also repeatedly claims she鈥檚 鈥渨orking with local law enforcement.鈥�

Both the Pima County and Santa Cruz County Sheriff鈥檚 Departments said they are not working with Hutcherson. A CBP spokesman said Border Patrol does not coordinate with any groups or individuals at the border.

Hutcherson did not respond to the Star鈥檚 attempts to reach her through her website鈥檚 contact page and email address.

Santa Cruz County Sheriff David Hathaway said two years ago, Hutcherson contacted his office and he agreed to let her go on a ride-along with one of his officers, who happened to be Hispanic.

鈥淪he was very offended. She said she couldn鈥檛 work with any Hispanics, they were all corrupt. She started saying our department was corrupt and controlled by the cartels,鈥� he said.

鈥淚 tried to initially treat her like I would anybody else, giving her the benefit of the doubt,鈥� he said. But Hathaway said he came to realize 鈥渟he鈥檚 not trying to help anybody or do anything other than inflate herself and try to get followers.鈥�

Vigilantes and right-wing activists who show up in border communities are often upset by the close relationship between Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora, said Hathaway, who said his family has been there for five generations.

鈥淭hose people don鈥檛 really know the border. They didn鈥檛 grow up here like I did,鈥� he said. 鈥淢y county has the largest ports of entry with Mexico in Arizona. It鈥檚 a symbiotic relationship. Our retail merchants, our hospitality industry depend on that relationship with Mexico.鈥�

Stop the Hate Collective

Tucson human rights advocates want to counter hate with facts.

In 2020, advocacy groups formed the 鈥淪top the Hate Collective,鈥� during another election-year surge in hate speech directed at migrants and other marginalized groups, said collective co-founder Isabel Garc铆a, an immigrant-rights activist and attorney with Coalici贸n de Derechos Humanos.

The group aims to counter hate speech, particularly that comes from politicians with large platforms, and encourage voters to support politicians who shun such rhetoric.

Hundreds have signed the collective鈥檚 11-point pledge, including goals like speaking out against racism and bigotry, centering human rights in policy decisions and rejecting efforts to return migrants and refugees to dangerous situations.

鈥淟et鈥檚 face it: There鈥檚 a lot of hatred, but it goes on top of a lot of ignorance,鈥� Garc铆a said. 鈥淚n our country, we don鈥檛 teach the history of immigration. ... Without education, and with ignorance and lies, comes violence.鈥�

She pointed to Nogales-area rancher George Alan Kelly, who is facing a second-degree murder charge and an aggravated assault charge for fatally shooting a Mexican migrant on his property last year.

鈥淭hat is a result of hate speech and hate thinking,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing the atmosphere is toxic with this kind of hatred, so we鈥檙e trying to counter that with facts. We鈥檙e trying to tell people to look at how communities that have large numbers of immigrants have less crime. Border towns are safer than other places.鈥�

Local aid workers say while the presence of angry, armed extremists is worrisome, they won鈥檛 be deterred from their work.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 give them any energy. While they鈥檙e out playing soldier, we鈥檙e in the desert saving lives every day,鈥� said Cantillo of Humane Borders. 鈥淚t only strengthens our resolve to deliver water.鈥�

Tucson Samaritan Kocourek agreed, adding that she鈥檚 also provided water to vigilantes who were stranded on the side of the road in the borderlands.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 care who you are. If you need help, I will help you,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 was not raised to judge. I was raised that only God can judge.鈥�