Although officials say the Canada/US border is well protected, the Minuteman organization has set up several 'observation posts' along the border between Sumas and Blaine.
 Tom Williams, head of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps in Deming, Washington.  Both American and Canadian protestors joined together in opposition of the Minuteman inititives, some critics allege that the group has racist motives behind their operations. |
Armed Americans patrol B.C.-Washington border
CTV.ca News Staff
A group of armed Americans began patrolling part of the 49th parallel Saturday, saying they'll be keeping an eye on those who illegally cross into the U.S. from British Columbia.
They're members of the Minuteman organization -- a private group that says Washington isn't doing enough to secure their country's borders.
Already operating along the Mexico-Arizona border, the group says it will target drug dealers, suspected terrorists and illegal immigrants who try to cross into the U.S. from B.C.
Retired Marine Corps officer Tom Williams heads the local branch of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps in Deming, Wash. He'll be leading roughly 20 Minutemen who will set up several "observation posts" along the border between Sumas and Blaine.
"We're not here predominantly to call attention to the Canadian border," Williams told CTV Vancouver. "We're here predominantly to call attention to the U.S. border patrol."
Williams said his group will act as the "extra eyes and ears" for border security, which he says needs to be much tighter.
Although some of the members carry guns, Williams said they will simply observe and report people trying to cross illegally, and that he doesn't encourage his members to bring firearms to their patrols.
"Whether they choose to arm themselves is an individual responsibility, an individual decision. Our responsibility is to make sure that if they are armed, they're armed legally."
Drug smuggling, the recent discovery of a sophisticated, cross-border drug tunnel, and the arrest of 'millennium bomber' Ahmed Ressam, who was nabbed in Washington state as he drove off a ferry from Victoria, B.C. in 1999, has put the Minutemen on alert.
New Minuteman volunteer Betsy Madan told CTV News that it "feels good to be doing something that may protect my kids and my neighbour's kids. That matters to me a whole lot."
But critics say they're worried that some of the members are armed, and that nationally, they have associations with racist organizations.
Human rights groups from both sides of the border protested the Minutemen patrols Saturday at the Peace Arch border crossing.
"If there's a problem with the border and border issues, we need to sit down together and talk about it," said Anti-Minuteman protester Rosalinda Guillen, "not walk around carrying guns or taking the laws into our own hands."
Volunteers involved with the groups have said they're not motivated by hatred, but that they want to get the government's attention and ultimately, more government funding for border security.
U.S. President George Bush once called the group "vigilantes,'' while Mexican President Vicente Fox labelled them as "migrant hunters.''
The U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security has added significant fire-power to the Northwestern Washington patrol, including helicopters, boats, and infrared cameras.
And American officials say they have enough money and enough staff to take care of whatever problems arise along the border.
The National Border Patrol Council in Tucson, Ariz., however, has endorsed the Minutemen, saying there hasn't been a single complaint about the group from its 2,000 rank-and-file field agents.
With reports by CTV's Todd Battis and CTV Vancouver's John Fenton
