Once alleged victims come forward, attorneys plan to sue the people or groups accused of assaulting, robbing, intimidating or illegally detaining border-crossers.

"The purpose of the suit is to get at their pocketbook," said Jesus Romo, a civil rights attorney in Tucson. "Our purpose is to bankrupt these individuals so that they stop their actions."

No lawsuits have been filed thus far.

The self-appointed border patrol groups deny they are breaking the law, and said they pass along to authorities information that volunteers collect about illegal border-crossers.

The groups began appearing in Arizona in response to widespread complaints from border-area residents who said they were being overrun by large numbers of undocumented immigrants.

Border Action Network volunteers are stretching their search for alleged victims along the entire U.S.-Mexican border and as far south as the Mexican state of Chiapas.

The network plans also to continue using radio spots and newspaper ads to find plaintiffs, particularly focusing in areas where migrants originate.

Glenn Spencer, president of American Border Patrol, an organization based in Sierra Vista that monitors illegal border-crossers, said his group operates lawfully and does not interfere with migrants.

Still, he said he's concerned about groups that plan to file lawsuits. "Things are getting a little hairy," he said. "They're heightening feelings on both sides of the border. They are trying to rabble-rouse."

Another group that has patrolled the Arizona-Mexico border was sued in Texas over two incidents of alleged abuse against detained migrants.

A lawsuit filed in May accuses Ranch Rescue and others of assaulting, falsely imprisoning and robbing six people during two incidents in March in rural south Texas.

Miguel Escobar, Mexican consul in Douglas, said many alleged victims have either been deported or moved away. Others have been too fearful to testify.