Ranch Rescue

Ranch Rescue is a volunteer organization that assists ranchers and owners of property near the United States-Mexico border in the protection of their property. The organization claims that the protection is necessary due to damages caused by unauthorized border crossers, which it characterizes as terrorists. It also claims that the government has willfully and intentionally failed to protect property owners. At one time, Ranch Rescue featured a web site with links to news articles and opinion pieces regarding the U.S.-Mexico border. It also served as a recruitment tool for future members of the group.

Ranch Rescue has had chapters in the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Kentucky, New Mexico, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia. As of 2003, its largest chapter in Arizona had disbanded. Generally, Ranch Rescue operates on private property at the behest of the owners. When a landowner requests protection from the organization, Ranch Rescue operatives set up a military-style operation on the property and terms it as such. The operatives use electronic surveillance equipment, binoculars, flares, two-way radios, trained dogs, and firearms and other weapons.