Posted on 07/28/2005 7:20:59 AM PDT by SwinneySwitch
PHARR — Once a powerful and militant organization in the Chicano Liberation Movement, the Brown Berets made it known Wednesday that they will oppose the Minuteman border watch group with physical force if necessary.
"We want to send the message ‘think twice before you come here,’" said Pablo Delgado, a Brown Beret leader, at a press conference at the Hidalgo County Democratic Party headquarters.
The Minutemen have said they will come to Texas in October, although it is still unclear whether South Texas is in their outreach plans.
Hidalgo County Democratic Party chairman Juan Maldonado said the party does not condone the actions of the Brown Berets; however, because the group asked him for a platform, he agreed to let them speak at the press conference.
"We do not need the Brown Berets armed against the Minutemen," Maldonado reiterated after Delgado spoke. He said the people of South Texas are more "evolved" and "civil" than that.
The Brown Berets, primarily active in the late 1960s and early 1970s, are likened to the Black Panthers.
Further fueling the Brown Berets’ anger was the news of Bill Parmley’s resignation from the leadership post of the Texas chapter of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps on Monday. According to the Victoria Advocate, Parmley claimed the Texas chapter lacked structure and members from his area near Goliad had "racist tendencies."
A volunteer with the Minuteman group confirmed that Parmley resigned in an e-mail to national organizer Chris Simcox. But she said she had been told to say that Parmley "found it was taking too much time from his business." Simcox did not return an e-mail and telephone request for an interview Wednesday.
However, Jim Gilchrist, with the defense corps’ sister organization, The Minuteman Project, which primarily focuses on cracking down on illegal immigrant employers among other issues, said Parmley had a lot to explain.
Gilchrist suspected that Parmley was deliberately trying to sabotage the group and saying such things out of retaliation. If the Texas group is a bunch of racists, he said, Simcox will get to the bottom of this and oust them.
News of possible racist tendencies couldn’t have come at a better time for the local opponents of the civilian border patrol.
The Minutemen "are nothing more than a group of zealous over-enthusiastic racists that want to promote these types of immigrants as being terroristic," Maldonado said.
Even before the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, he said, there was an unfounded fear held by some in the United States that Mexicans were taking over the country.
"The Minutemen project that fear," he said. "For all the strides that we have made toward equality, the Minutemen are the epitome of hate, fear and ignorance. We are unified to stop this racist movement from entering our region."
"When will they begin patrolling the Canadian border?" asked Juanita Valdez-Cox, state director of La Union del Pueblo Entero. According to the project’s official Web site, www.minutemanhq.com, the answer is soon. Volunteers to patrol the United State’s northern border with Canada are being recruited.
At the end of the press conference, Maldonado was the first to sign a petition denouncing the border watchers. The Democratic Party plans to send the petition to Gov. Rick Perry to get him to do the same.
The petition also points out the need for more money to hire Border Patrol agents, a point deputy Mexican consulate Ernesto Herrera touched on privately with reporters after the conference.
"It isn’t in the scope of the private citizen to do the job of the government," Herrera said. "The Mexican government thinks the U.S. has the institution, the department in charge of protecting the border…. They (the Border Patrol) know the limits. They know that everybody, undocumented or not, has human rights. It’s not something you leave behind when you cross the border."
Cari Hammerstrom covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach her at (956) 683-4424.
Haven't heard ONE mention of this from el presidente Bush, have we?
No. The US has policies and procedures addressing asylum.
Besides, the only people who may need to leave Mexico in fear of their life are the half dozen or so honest police officers. And exceptions could be made for them as they probably possess information valuable to US LEOs.
Protect our borders and coastlines from all foreign invaders!
Be Ever Vigilant!
Minutemen Patriots ~ Bump!
Given the scenario you proposed, here in Texas I'd have to swim or wade for cover rather than run. But being a law abiding citizen in possession of a CWP affords me the preferred option of exercising my human right to defend myself in such a situation.
I'm sure that all those historical giants from your neck of the woods would approve.
An earlier report somewhat contradicts this one:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1452055/posts
That link makes it sound like Maldonado is on the BB's side, and the video does too. It would be good to find out when he decided he didn't support their position.
Note that the TV reporters also seem to be on the BB's side.
"Hidalgo County Democratic Party chairman Juan Maldonado said..."
2 clues: Juan is a democrat and his lips are moving..?
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