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."
Sure, while we're admiring my David Duke poster.
We'd better not post articles concerning NAMBLA, PeTA, the KKK, the UN, or ELF, either... and I'd argue that Congress sometimes belongs in that bunch! =^)
The link is to Yahoo news.
I understand where you are coming from. I also understand the mindset of law enforcement. NOTHING pisses them off more than to see 'a citizen' take matters into their own hands.
Who was that guy in the New York subway that shot his attackers? LOL, it didn't matter if they were threatening him moments before he shot them, he was the bad guy.
It's a shame, but that's what the folks on the border will be dealing with. They will be the bad guys. It's a forgone conclusion.
Cheap shot,Dane, That has nothing to do with controlling our borders and you know it..Those people were shot by their own countrymen when trying to leave the country.
We are not being fair to those on waiting lists while people illegally enter our country and are not being deported...The east German guards were trying to keep people from escaping to freedom from their side of the fence..We don't have anyone swimming or hiking the other way.
We cannot simply open the border and because we have looked the other way so long..the problem has become a real burden to certain communities.
I do not believe in vigilantes but I do know we have to start controlling our borders better and enforcing our own laws better.
Notice #1 has been deleted. It was a highlighted link to the minuteman site.
Doughty, you are a buchanan supporter(you campaigned for him vociferously on FR in 2000), buchanan has stated that America herself was the cause of 9/11, basically because of her support of Israel.
You can't have it both ways Doughty, when are you going to condemn the islamofascists who wish to kill all Americans and Israelis. And also when are you going to condemn pat buchanan for his tacit support and symapthy for the islamofascists becuase of their animus towards the state of Israel.
JMO, the Bush administration is doing it's best within a free society to make this country more secure, and that includes having to deal with the pro-islamofascist rantings of your hero pat buchanan.
Not cheap at all, IMO.
Could you answer a question, do you think that Ronald Reagan would support this effort described in the article.
IMO, he would not.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1347957/posts
FORT WORTH - The issue of whether illegal immigrants should receive charitable preventive health care in the JPS Health Network clinics will not go away.
snip
Trustees voting for the reversal said the policy was costly, had not reduced emergency room visits and was unfair to legal Tarrant County residents who were also struggling with health care access
snip
Would Ronald Reagan approve of the political movement described in the article.
It is my opinion President Ronald Reagan would have not.
Dane, in that simple mind of yours, my support for Buchanan in 2000 would have to mean I was biased if I was upset about 10-50,000 people being killed by a terrorist act. This logic says volumes. I don't need to refute it.
As for your hatred of Buchanan, I don't mind. If you are going to post comments of Pat's though, you might want to do a balanced job if it. Buchanan also supported Israel's right to defend itself.
I disagree with Pat on a number of issues. His middle-east views are diametricly opposed to my own.
Say what you will, allowing three million unkowns to enter our nation each year, is not doing your best to stop terrorists from entering our nation. I know that and you know that.
I have found that discussing matters with you is futal. You are welcome to your opinions. Later...
I can only speculate, but I don't think he would have a problem with it. How does this differ from any "community watch" program in residential neighborhoods?
I don't believe Ronald Reagan made a great decision about illegal immigration..I am sure no President would approve of vigilantes.
We need to change the law and accept all from all countries that want in or enforce our laws. Mexico is not reforming their own country to create good economic conditions..I do not mind documenting workers, but I want them to follow the law. I want us to enforce the law..
I do not believe the illegals should be rewarded with citizenship possibilites before people who go the legal route.
Right now we are in a mess and I have no idea how to solve the problem of millions of illegals already here..I do think we have to stop the flow.
Hmmm. That's why Ronald Reagan was the first one to propose NAFTA and signed amensty for illegals, completely different, than what President Bush has proposed.
Now that's a nice post, but it has one fatal flaw. You've used a logical arguement. Don't say I didn't warn you. LOL
>>>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. <<<
yep. the minute men have more to fear from the gvt then the illegals breaking the law do. amazingly sad... and unjust.
>>>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. <<<
but not to worry about some "bad apples" that might be entering illegally.. it's all about the "crazy gun toting cowboys" being the bad guys..
God bless these Patriots ...
IIRC, this group on their website had posted their strategy on how to "infiltrate and take over" Free Republic with their view of immigration.
So this was a little more serious than simply posting an occasional article from a fringe group.
Really, it's hard to conclude anything else.
I could care less about the current crop of leaders. I care a great deal about the damage this might cause across the board, to issues I care about.
There's where you and I differ my friend.
I could give a rats rear end about what this can do to my "issues"
I care a great deal about what it can and will do to my Country, her people, her Constitution and our Freedoms.
I shudder to think what will happen WHEN there is another Terror attack on our soil.
I feel strongly that another Civil War may be the result. If there is, this government and the current crop of leaders have nobody else to blame but themselves.
assuming most here don't hate Curtis Sliwa or the "Guardian Angels", how is this group much different? I supect the border LEOs feel the same way about these guys as the NYC LEOs felt about the Angels at first.
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