Posted on 04/03/2005 5:06:19 AM PDT by Anti-Bubba182
HEBBRONVILLE, Texas – A South Texas man who was sued two years ago after immigrants claimed they'd been chased and assaulted on his ranch said he's "100 percent" behind the Minuteman Project, launched Friday in Arizona to protest security gaps along the U.S.-Mexico border.
But Joe Sutton said he isn't convinced the effort will slow illegal immigration and worries that citizen enforcers "are going to be tangled up in a court of law. Just like I was."
Hundreds of Minuteman volunteers this weekend are converging on the Arizona-Mexico border for a monthlong protest of what they describe as the federal government's "decades-long careless disregard" of immigration laws.
President Bush calls them "vigilantes," but supporters say they're trying to protect America from "an invasion."
Impossible task
Mr. Sutton said he backs the spirit of the protest, saying it's a natural evolution "of what I was trying to do." But he now believes that stopping illegal migrants is next to impossible.
In 2003, his own efforts drew national attention after he invited members of a group called Ranch Rescue to help him patrol his property, about six miles from Hebbronville off State Highway 16. A Salvadoran man and his wife claimed that the volunteers detained them unlawfully, threatened them and accosted them. Immigrant advocates sued Ranch Rescue, along with Mr. Sutton and his wife, Betty.
The parties settled the lawsuit, which Mr. Sutton saw as a vindication, but he said the experience left him less willing to take matters into his own hands.
So these days, when he sees suspected illegal migrants wandering near his 5,000-acre ranch, he said he rarely bothers hitting the speed dial for the Border Patrol.
"If my government doesn't care, why should I?" asked the rancher, sounding both frustrated and resigned.
He quickly points out that he's not "anti-government." In fact, he's a Bush supporter. But he said he was "really ticked off" when the president called the Minutemen "vigilantes."
People are only trying to protect what's theirs, he said.
"Whether you rent an apartment or live in a foxhole or on a million-dollar ranch, you have certain rights," he said. "How would you like it if you woke up and found a bunch of illegal aliens taking a bath in your children's swimming pool?"
Immigrant advocates say they oppose civilian efforts to keep undocumented workers out of the country.
"It leads to actions of hate, and we cannot condone that in this country," said Marisol Perez, a spokeswoman for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund in San Antonio. "It's obvious there's a very anti-immigrant climate right now."
Nearly 40 percent of the population of North Texas is made up of foreign-born immigrants and their children, census figures show.
"Perhaps one half of our immigrant population is undocumented, while a great majority lives in poverty, does not speak English, has no legal status and is socially marginalized," according to a study by Dallas-Fort Worth International (DFWI), a nonprofit organization bringing together more than 1,600 civic, community and educational groups.
"You have workers who are going to accept the lowest pay and no benefits. And that's why they keep coming," said Anne Marie Weiss-Armush, DFWI's director. "Blocking the border isn't going to do anything. We'd better learn Spanish."
'End of America'
That kind of talk has William Gheen calling it "the end of America as we know it."
At least 10 million illegal immigrants are in the U.S. now, "and that'll double in five years," said Mr. Gheen, president of Americans for Legal Immigration, a private group in Raleigh, N.C. "We're in real trouble."
"It's not just Texas, California and Arizona anymore," said Rick Oltman, western U.S. field director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform. "Everybody is being impacted by immigration. That's why the Minuteman Project has drawn so much attention."
Some immigration reform advocates would like to see a similar effort in Texas.
"There definitely should be complimentary efforts in Texas and in all the other border states," said Jack Wright, a spokesman for Ranch Rescue. "What we are witnessing in our border counties is not immigration, it is a crime wave of biblical proportions."
Back in Hebbronville, Mr. Sutton was preparing for another deluge of travelers from the south.
"We've had thousands of illegal aliens come over the border and go through this ranch. We were broken into less than a month ago for the umpteenth time," he said.
"Some people say we're losing the state. I'm pretty convinced we've already lost it."
Lets see....... I believe I mentioned the term 'vigilante', not 'invasion'. I don't see where I said anything about 'invasion'.
Hey, I have worked a ranch on the US/Mexico border. Every night we had to pull every battery out of the vehicles and lock them in the barn. There is no meaningful border policy.
Good thing this isnt is Florida where Judge Greer Rules
and the Gov ...doesnt involve himself do to 'legal' constraints...
Black robed tyrants and trial liars rule America not the law...
imo
I cut and pasted the remark from the actual article. The quotes around invasion were theirs.
Gotcha. Victim of my own baggage.
"A policy of open immigration will advance the economic well-being of all Americans. All major recent studies of immigrants indicate that they have a high labor force participation, are entrepreneurial, and tend to have specialized skills that allow them to enter under-served markets."
I cannot believe that you would say that considering what the illegal alien population of this country is costing the American taxpayer. Just in education and medical expenses alone we are in the red because of these illegals - not to mention incarceration and the damage done to the people who are the victims of the criminals.
ENFORCE THE LAWS and close the borders. Then, just maybe, things might turn around. I want every illegal in this country - no matter WHERE they came from - gone!
Americans doing what law enforcement won't?
Seriously, the average BP agent is doing a heroic job on the borders.
The problem is that they aren't being given the resources to actually gain 'operational control' of the border, whatever that means...
Thanks for the heads up.
Who made these studies? Who were the subjects of the studies the folks who followed the rules or the illegal border crossers? If the former they are correct if the latter were the subject the test is full of BS ! And before you go thinking that I am a racist be advised I know both legal immigrants & illegal border crossers & I live in a city with a Republic of Mexico embassy that cranks out Marticula phoney baloney I.D's all day.
Immigrant Illegal alien advocates say they oppose civilian efforts to keep undocumented workers out of the country.
...Marisol Perez, a spokeswoman for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund in San Antonio. "It's obvious there's a very anti-immigrant illegal alien climate right now."
"Perhaps one half of our immigrant population is undocumented comprised of illegal aliens,
At least 10 million illegal immigrants aliens are in the U.S. now, "and that'll double in five years," said Mr. Gheen,
"We've had thousands of illegal aliens come over the border and go through this ranch. We were broken into less than a month ago for the umpteenth time," he said.
"Some people say we're losing the state. I'm pretty convinced we've already lost it."
The majority of Californians disagree with you. The majority of the invasion is right here in our back yard, and our state is going bankrupt.
http://www.cis.org/topics/costs.html The cost of illegals. They are not playing anything. This country was founded by civilian militia.
South Texas Ping!
Please let me know if you want on or off this South Texas/Mexico ping list.
Apparently, I did not make myself clear. I cut and pasted a sentence from the article for my #6 reply. All I disagreed with was the POTUS's use of the term 'vigilante'.
Understand : I think we should close the damn Mexican border coming in to the U.S.
You're the second FReeper who thought I meant something else, so I guess it is my fault that I was unclear with my statement.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.