[neodad]

Many of the hundreds who make up the self-appointed civilian patrols monitoring the border to deter smuggling of people and drugs are unemployed or underemployed ex-military men who have long resented Mexicans who come to the United States illegally and, in their view, compete for jobs, crowd hospitals and schools and threaten English as the nation's dominant language

So that's the new angle, just a bunch of angry white men.

[cripplecreek]

"The driver compared the civilian patroller to Nazis."


That's funny. One of the groups opposing the Minutemen call themselves "Brown Berets", seems that the name brownshirts was already taken.

[NormsRevenge]

Petitions ARE Available NOW!!!

Click the badge below FoR more info

[ncountylee]

The patrollers have drawn criticism from Mexican President Vicente Fox, who accuses them of practicing vigilante justice.

Fox has troops on his southern border and provides zero services to illegals in Mexico.

[TheOracleAtLilac]

As of late, methinks these "Field Polls" are pure, liberal driven B.S.

[Americanwolfsbrother]

The first paragraph tells you everything you need to know about this article. 20 years ago this was called an editorial not a news story. P.S. AP fact check your stories before you release them!

[Mike Darancette]

Civilian patrols are opposed by 56 percent of Californians

Considering the poll probably referred to gun carrying racists, I am surprised that the percentage wasn't higher.

[kingu]

Many of the hundreds who make up the self-appointed civilian patrols monitoring the border to deter smuggling of people and drugs are unemployed or underemployed ex-military men who have long resented Mexicans who come to the United States illegally and, in their view, compete for jobs, crowd hospitals and schools and threaten English as the nation's dominant language.

No editorializing in the writing, not at all.. Fair and accurate... Yeah right. And I've yet to come across any Minuteman who was extremely concerned about Mexicans showing up vs. those coming from other less compatible regions of the world. But of course, every illegal is Mexican...

[DumpsterDiver]

ping

[concentric circles]

A little different tone in this one:

Civilian monitors on both borders
By Jerry Seper - The Washington Times - October 1, 2005

"...Chris Simcox, who heads the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps... "When the government fails to fulfill its primary duty and protect this nation, it is up to self-governing people to step into the breach."

"...In Arizona, 850 volunteers stood watch near Naco to reduce the flow of illegal aliens in one of the nation's most-traveled immigration corridors. Their goal was to show that increased manpower on the border would effectively deter illegal immigration. During the 30-day vigil, apprehensions by Border Patrol agents in the targeted area dropped from more than 500 a day to fewer than 15."

"...Before the April vigil, Minuteman critics contended the group consisted of anti-immigration racists who would violently confront border crossers. That did not occur."

"The National Border Patrol Council, Local 2544, in Tucson, Ariz., also endorsed the Minuteman Project, saying its members -- about 2,000 field agents -- did not have "one single complaint from a rank-and-file agent in this sector about the Minutemen."

"Every report we've received indicates these people are very supportive of the rank-and-file agents. They're courteous. Many of them are retired firefighters, cops and other professionals, and they're not causing us any problems whatsoever," the council said."

"Residents in the area also thanked the Minutemen in a full-page newspaper ad "for doing what our government won't -- close the border to illegal aliens..."