Citizen patrols put porous border in spotlight
By Michael Riley
The Denver Post
Salt Lake Tribune
Michael King, a member of American Border Patrol, a citizen watchdog group that posts images from the U.S.-Mexico border to draw attention to illegal immigration, rides along the U.S.-Mexico border, Feb. 18, 2005, near Cochise County, Ariz. Arizona has been the focal point for illegal entries from Mexico for years, since U.S. Border Patrol crackdowns in California and Texas took hold. Cochise County has been among the most active smuggling corridors and has previously attracted several civilian patrol operations. A new operation, the Minuteman Project, is to begin in April, 2005. The project calls for armed civilian volunteers to watch for illegal border crossings and report them to the border patrol.
More than 1,000 opponents of illegal immigration from around the country plan to descend on a remote stretch of the Arizona border with Mexico this weekend for a month-long patrol to nab people crossing into the United States.
The participants have strict orders not to detain anyone but only report them to Border Patrol. But organizers say many will be armed.
The movement, dubbed the Minuteman Project, has attracted protests, death threats and possible lawsuits - but it has had no problem recruiting volunteers.
’’We won’t beat people; we won’t stop people. We will strictly observe and take it from there,’’ said Jim Gilchrist, the event’s founder. ’’This is not a war.’’
Among the high-tech equipment that participants plan to deploy along a heavily used smuggling corridor west of Douglas, Ariz., are homemade drones, sophisticated listening devices and at least 16 light aircraft. The planes will be flown by volunteer pilots and the participants are paying for everything - from aircraft fuel to pup tents - themselves.
Organizers call it ’’a giant neighborhood watch’’ and say its main goal is to draw attention to the country’s porous southern border. There is little doubt that they will meet that goal.
President Bush recently referred to the patrollers as ’’vigilantes.’’
Gilchrist’s home in Aliso Viejo, Calif., has been picketed by sign-waving protesters. And the American Civil Liberties Union is dispatching monitors to ensure that the activists stay within the law.
On Tuesday, Mexico’s foreign ministry vowed to file criminal complaints in Arizona courts against anyone illegally detaining its citizens. U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., announced that he will fly in over the weekend to hail the patrollers as ’’heroes.’’
’’It’s an inherently dangerous mix,’’ said Jennifer Allen, of the Border Action Network, a pro-immigrant group in Tucson, Ariz. ’’You’ve got racism and xenophobia mixed in with undocumented immigrants.’’
But organizers say that short of an eruption of violence, the more fuss the better.
The Arizona desert is the main entry point for undocumented immigrants, accounting for more than half of the 1.1 million border crossers apprehended in the United States last year.
For many, the ease of entry along the state’s 400-mile southern border has become a symbol of the government’s unwillingness to enforce immigration laws. This week, U.S. Homeland Security officials announced that they will boost the number of Border Patrol agents in Arizona by 500, bringing the total to about 2,900. Authorities said the timing of the deployment has nothing to do with the civilian patrols.
’’We’re not going down to capture Mexicans,’’ said Jim Haas, a Grand Junction contractor who will spend two weeks patrolling the border as part of the event. ’’We’re going down so that every American can see what’s going on their TV sets and call their congressman.’’
Haas estimates he will spend $1,500 to patrol the desert, including the price of night-vision equipment and a directional microphone he recently purchased. He’ll also be wearing body armor capable of withstanding a round fired from an AK-47 assault rifle.
The organizers have taken note of legal action in the past two years against similar citizen patrols. They say they are carefully screening participants. And they have strict rules that all patrollers must agree to, including a promise not to touch border crossers and to keep their weapons holstered.
Border Patrol officials have repeatedly said they don’t want the help.
Although organizers say they are screening out members of hate groups, the project has been highlighted on the Aryan Nations’ Web site, and human rights groups say a neo-Nazi organization, the National Alliance, has been handing out fliers in support of the event.
http://www.sltrib.com/portlet/article/html/fragments/print_article.jsp?article=2631664
By Michael Riley
The Denver Post
Salt Lake Tribune
Michael King, a member of American Border Patrol, a citizen watchdog group that posts images from the U.S.-Mexico border to draw attention to illegal immigration, rides along the U.S.-Mexico border, Feb. 18, 2005, near Cochise County, Ariz. Arizona has been the focal point for illegal entries from Mexico for years, since U.S. Border Patrol crackdowns in California and Texas took hold. Cochise County has been among the most active smuggling corridors and has previously attracted several civilian patrol operations. A new operation, the Minuteman Project, is to begin in April, 2005. The project calls for armed civilian volunteers to watch for illegal border crossings and report them to the border patrol.
More than 1,000 opponents of illegal immigration from around the country plan to descend on a remote stretch of the Arizona border with Mexico this weekend for a month-long patrol to nab people crossing into the United States.
The participants have strict orders not to detain anyone but only report them to Border Patrol. But organizers say many will be armed.
The movement, dubbed the Minuteman Project, has attracted protests, death threats and possible lawsuits - but it has had no problem recruiting volunteers.
’’We won’t beat people; we won’t stop people. We will strictly observe and take it from there,’’ said Jim Gilchrist, the event’s founder. ’’This is not a war.’’
Among the high-tech equipment that participants plan to deploy along a heavily used smuggling corridor west of Douglas, Ariz., are homemade drones, sophisticated listening devices and at least 16 light aircraft. The planes will be flown by volunteer pilots and the participants are paying for everything - from aircraft fuel to pup tents - themselves.
Organizers call it ’’a giant neighborhood watch’’ and say its main goal is to draw attention to the country’s porous southern border. There is little doubt that they will meet that goal.
President Bush recently referred to the patrollers as ’’vigilantes.’’
Gilchrist’s home in Aliso Viejo, Calif., has been picketed by sign-waving protesters. And the American Civil Liberties Union is dispatching monitors to ensure that the activists stay within the law.
On Tuesday, Mexico’s foreign ministry vowed to file criminal complaints in Arizona courts against anyone illegally detaining its citizens. U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., announced that he will fly in over the weekend to hail the patrollers as ’’heroes.’’
’’It’s an inherently dangerous mix,’’ said Jennifer Allen, of the Border Action Network, a pro-immigrant group in Tucson, Ariz. ’’You’ve got racism and xenophobia mixed in with undocumented immigrants.’’
But organizers say that short of an eruption of violence, the more fuss the better.
The Arizona desert is the main entry point for undocumented immigrants, accounting for more than half of the 1.1 million border crossers apprehended in the United States last year.
For many, the ease of entry along the state’s 400-mile southern border has become a symbol of the government’s unwillingness to enforce immigration laws. This week, U.S. Homeland Security officials announced that they will boost the number of Border Patrol agents in Arizona by 500, bringing the total to about 2,900. Authorities said the timing of the deployment has nothing to do with the civilian patrols.
’’We’re not going down to capture Mexicans,’’ said Jim Haas, a Grand Junction contractor who will spend two weeks patrolling the border as part of the event. ’’We’re going down so that every American can see what’s going on their TV sets and call their congressman.’’
Haas estimates he will spend $1,500 to patrol the desert, including the price of night-vision equipment and a directional microphone he recently purchased. He’ll also be wearing body armor capable of withstanding a round fired from an AK-47 assault rifle.
The organizers have taken note of legal action in the past two years against similar citizen patrols. They say they are carefully screening participants. And they have strict rules that all patrollers must agree to, including a promise not to touch border crossers and to keep their weapons holstered.
Border Patrol officials have repeatedly said they don’t want the help.
Although organizers say they are screening out members of hate groups, the project has been highlighted on the Aryan Nations’ Web site, and human rights groups say a neo-Nazi organization, the National Alliance, has been handing out fliers in support of the event.
http://www.sltrib.com/portlet/article/html/fragments/print_article.jsp?article=2631664
