TUCSON — Two ideologically opposite groups planned news conferences Thursday in downtown Tucson to get out their messages about border politics.

In the morning, one of those groups, the human rights defender Border Action Network launched a new campaign to document abuses and violations of civil rights in border communities.

“The U.S. Constitution applies to everyone ... regardless of legal status,” said Jennifer Allen, executive director of Border Action Network.

Another group — the nonprofit anti-illegal-immigration organization known as American Border Patrol — postponed its afternoon news conference, in which it had planned to release the results of an aerial survey of the U.S.-Mexico border. The results will be released later.

The delay was due to an injury suffered by the organization’s representative, Glenn Spencer, according to a woman who answered the telephone Thursday afternoon at the American Border Patrol’s office in the Hereford-Palominas area.

American Border Patrol is  a  nonprofit  organization  that should not be confused with the U.S. Border Patrol, whose white and green-striped vehicles are a common sight in Cochise County.

Border Action Network claims law enforcement by federal and local units has been heavy-handed. Therefore, it is conducting a three-month, statewide campaign with 100 volunteers visiting “immigrant and border communities” to train people in those places how to document civil rights violations.

The U.S. Border Patrol maintains that it adheres to ethical policies. Likewise, accusations such as “racial profiling” have been denied by police agencies such as Bisbee, which, being close to border-straddling Naco, assists the U.S. Border Patrol with dozens of apprehensions of illegal immigrants every week. Many area residents approve of this. Others do not.

Participants of the BAN conference mentioned two stories of cruel-police incidents that happened in places other than Cochise County. In one, in December 2005, a family of mixed legal status called local police to complain that all their outdoor Christmas decorations had been stolen. They say the officer ignored the complaint  and  instead  used  a  10-year-old girl from the family as his translator to inform the family that they had 10 days to produce legal documentation or they would be removed.

In another example, a man  had  a  flat  tire  on  the  highway and called police to help him. The call led to the man’s arrest and deportation. Thus, says Allen, the “immigrant community” is becoming less inclined to trust local law enforcement to perform traditional protect-and-serve duties.

Most cities and towns in Cochise  County  are  on  BAN’s training calendar.

A total of 15 people attended BAN’s news conference, held  at  a  place  called  “Centro Digna” at 842 Sixth Ave. English and Spanish were used as there were Anglo and Latin participants and journalists, including Channel 33 from Phoenix, present at the event.

Border Action Network plans to go door to door with educational material and clipboards containing forms that will help volunteers document allegations of abuse and human rights violations.

American Border Patrol apparently plans to continue its mission, which includes flying UAV surveillance   missions along the border, and using such tools as Google Earth and high-resolution videography, to report illegal border crossings to the public.

herald/review City Editor Ted Morris can be reached at 515-4614 or by e-mail at cityeditor@svherald.com.