Posted on 02/21/2005 2:38:55 AM PST by ajolympian2004
By LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - Intent on securing the vulnerable Arizona border from illegal immigrant crossings, U.S. officials are bracing for what they call a potential new threat this spring: the Minutemen. Nearly 500 volunteers have already joined the Minuteman Project, anointing themselves civilian border patrol agents determined to stop the immigration flow that routinely, and easily, seeps past federal authorities.
They plan to patrol a 40-mile stretch of the southeast Arizona border throughout April when the tide of immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border peaks.
"I felt the only way to get something done was to do it yourself," said Jim Gilchrist, a retired accountant and decorated Vietnam War veteran who is helping recruit Minutemen across the country.
"We've been repeatedly accused of being people who are taking the law into our own hands," said Gilchrist, 56, of Aliso Viejo, Calif. "That is an outright bogus statement. We are going down there to assist law enforcement."
Officials concede the 370-mile Arizona border is the most porous stretch on the U.S.-Mexico line. Moreover, recent intelligence show that al-Qaida terrorists are likely to enter the country through the Mexico border, James Loy, the deputy secretary of the Homeland Security Department, said last week.
"Several al-Qaida leaders believe operatives can pay their way into the country through Mexico, and also believe illegal entry is more advantageous than legal entry for operational security reasons," Loy said in written testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Of the 1.1 million illegal immigrants caught by the U.S. Border Patrol last year, 52 percent crossed into the country at the Arizona border. The agency increased the number of agents in the Tucson sector, which has its largest staff, from 1,700 to 2,100 over the last 18 months.
But that number is going to grow to try to plug the remaining holes, said Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Robert C. Bonner. About 10,000 federal agents now patrol the 2,000-mile southern border, he said.
Officials fear the Minuteman patrols could cause more trouble than they prevent. At least some of the volunteers plan to arm themselves during the 24-hour desert patrols. Many are untrained and have little or no experience in confronting illegal border crossings.
"Any time there are firearms and you're out in the middle of no-man's land in difficult terrain, it's a dangerous setting," said Bonner, whose agency is keeping a close eye on the Minutemen plans.
"The Border Patrol does this every day, and they are qualified and very well-trained to handle the situation," he said. "Ordinary Americans are not. So there's a danger that not just illegal migrants might get hurt, but that American citizens might get hurt in this situation."
Civilian patrols are nothing new along the southern border, where crossing the international line is sometimes as easy as stepping over a few rusty strands of barbed wire. But they usually are limited to small, informal groups, leaving organizers to believe the Minuteman Project is the largest of its kind on the southern border.
It may also prove to be a magnet for what Glenn Spencer, president of the private American Border Patrol, described as camouflage-wearing, weapons-toting hard-liners who might get a little carried away with their assignments.
"How are they going to keep the nutcases out of there? They can't control that," said Spencer, whose 40-volunteer group, based in Hereford, Ariz., has used unmanned aerial vehicles and other high-tech equipment to track and report the number of border crossings for more than two years.
"There's a storm gathering here on the border, and there are conditions ripe for some difficulty," he said.
The border agents agree.
The Minutemen "clearly have every reason to be upset with the federal government for abandoning them," said National Border Patrol Council president T.J. Bonner, no relation to the commissioner.
But "if anything goes wrong, God forbid, someone does injure an agent, this government is going to be turning both barrels on them and come after them with a vengeance," he said.
Gilchrist said the Minutemen are under strict orders to merely identify and follow illegal border crossers and alert federal agents. They should not interact with the immigrants except to offer food, water or medical care. If there's a couple of "bad apples" who turn up in the group, Gilchrist said, they will face prosecution if they step outside the law.
Something dramatic needed to be done to curb the years of crime, property damage and trash dumping caused by the border crossings, Gilchrist said.
"Things are out of control" he said. "And they've been out of control for decades."
It depends on state law. In some states you can shoot to protect your property. In others you better have one foot in the grave, if you shoot some guy pointing a gun at you while you're resting on your pillow.
That's an exageration, but not by as much as you might think in some states.
LOL
Elsie, I agree that things have gone terribly wrong. I want it stopped, and if this effort can be controlled, and it operates within legitimate guidelines, I support it. I don't want to send you down there knowing that you may wind up in prison, or worse yet shot. I don't think that is going to happen, so please don't misunderstand my point.
I'm not going to shoot someone for walking on my property. I wouldn't want them there. I'd be damned angry about it, bit I don't think of it as a capital offense. Perhaps you do. I can't sign on to that.
If that were to happen, the shooter would spend a decade or more in prision. It would be designated as racilly motivated. And although that would be fiercely debated, I'm not sure you'd prevail in a court.
I share your anger at this. I don't think it's right. But I do want to be the devil's advocate here, and try to explain that no matter how angry we are, there are some lines we should not cross.
Thanks for your comments.
I agree with you.
I take you are anti-gun rights and anti-self-defense.
I'm reminded of the story about the guy who was looking for something.
A passerby asked, 'What are you looking for?'
He said, 'My watch.'
'Where did you lose it?'
'Over there.', pointing across the street to an alley.
'Why are you looking here then?'
'The light's better.'
I can say for a fact that you are wrong and owe D1 an apology for levelling a charge against him without bothering to check his posting history.
I would take D1 covering my back any day of the week. You need to read what he is saying and try to think through it, instead of resorting to a knee-jerk attack.
Why don't you debate the subject instead of trying to raise the temperature of the thread?
Because he would be arrested for doing such.
Agree 100 percent. The real fight is in Washington. The purpose of this action should be to generate political embarassment and subsequent political action on congresscritters and the Bush Admin. We hold the high ground here - the law is already on our side. We just seek to have it enforced.
However, the worst action would be to break the law regarding citizen's arrest. That will play right into the hands of those who will try time and time again to paint those opposed to illegal immigration as violent vigalante bigots. We do not want to give them that kind of ammo. So IMO what Minuteman is doing is a right-wing non-violent protest against illegal immigration and the lack of fair enforcement of such.
Is it risky? Sure. But no one is forcing these folks to participate. They appear to be willing to take the risks to take a stand and make a point. And if they adhere to the values they are stating, I applaud them and support them.
And I will call them for such, as you can. However, please try to refrain from taking the dialogue on these threads to where it gets out of control. This is an important debate and there should be a fair hearing for both sides.
My post was not a 'knee-jerk attack' is was a accessment of DoughtyOne Post 2 which was:
If the Minuteman project wishes to become involved at the border, they must remain unarmed and peaceful. They cannot detain. They must work in an advisory status only.
Turth be told, I think they should be able to aprehend and detain north of the border. The fact is, the border patrol will turn on them like rabid dogs, if they do so.
This will probably get ugly. Perhaps that's a good thing. If the feds get the idea the citizens of this nation have had it, perhaps they'll get off thair fat rumps and do something about this travesty.
Course what they'd probably do is hire 10,000 new agents to guard against U.S. citizens making aprehensions. And they'd probably do it lickety split.
It sounds like that DoughtyOne agrees that things are bad and that the both the U.S. government agents and the illegals are already hurting U.S. citizens; YET, DoughtyOne also seems to think that the U.S. citizens on the border should remain unarmed and unorganized towards onslaught.
I am NOT saying what the M.M. is doing it right, but that logical accessment that the U.S. citizens are screwed either way.
Flame-baiting again, Dane?
Reagan went along with an amnesty that was supposed to end this problem. It instead made it worse.
There is much to admire about Reagan. His immigration policies are not one of those things.
I reviewed the thread. There was one post that asked why trespassers causing vandalism weren't shot. I addressed that post. If you can find any others, please point them out. Otherwise, please try to make your points without trying to cause conflict on this thread.
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