In late February, the self-proclaimed commander of a rightwing militia group based in northern New Mexico issued an urgent proclamation to listeners of the group’s YouTube radio show.

“We have 2,500 people getting ready to come across at [the] El Paso-New Mexico state line,” said Larry Mitchell Hopkins, speaking under the alias Johnny Horton Jr., of the United Constitutional Patriots. “They are from South America, and MS-13, a very large group. ... We are deploying men right now through the border, and we need more boots on the ground, we need all the help we can get, folks.”

In another radio broadcast days later, after Hopkins relocated to the state’s southern half, he bragged that the militia was working directly with Border Patrol agents: “We are working with the Border Patrol. They are working great with us. All their supervisors have been here. They check on us. They’ve given us a sector of work with them, and they’re really doing a good job.”

Around that time, a member of the militia started posting videos to Facebook of strange men in death squad uniforms running around the chaparral of southernmost Doña Ana County, New Mexico, which abuts the Texas city of El Paso. In one of the videos, the camera operator chases a young woman as she screams and scrambles up a hill to escape the terrorist at her heels, who shouts baseless commands for the group to stop. Some commenters on the live feed urged the men to open fire.

In at least a few videos, militia members are shown speaking with Border Patrol agents, who allow the group to film their apprehensions of would-be immigrants. Hopkins told his radio listeners on March 1 that his group was working “hand-in-hand” with Border Patrol. The agency, in contrast, has issued a boilerplate response to media stating it “does not endorse or condone private groups or organizations taking enforcement matters into their own hands.” Yet it’s clear border agents are at least tolerating the presence of the militia.