Spencer’s enemies are elusive, wily, and to him, alien. They are Latino border crossers, and whether children fleeing conflict, families seeking a better life, or suspected drug smugglers makes no difference. Spencer believes they constitute a threat large enough to warrant years of his life struggling to combat it.

While the mood at the state Capitol this past year might be best described as riotous, 2012 — the Chinese Year of the Dragon — was marked with fewer gaffes, catfights and over-the-top name calling among Arizona’s political elite.

Two Democratic senators walked out of a border security panel this morning after its chairwoman invited an activist who is described by a civil rights group as a “vitriolic Mexican-basher.”

The chairman of a civilian border watch group described by a watchdog organization as a "vitriolic Mexican-basher" who courts white supremacists will no longer be giving a presentation about the state of the U.S.-Mexico border to an Arizona Senate panel.

The chairman of a civilian border watch group invited by an Arizona senator to address state lawmakers has been referred to by a watchdog group as a "vitriolic Mexican-basher" who courts white supremacists.