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(Minuteman Project) Border vigil aims at awareness
Posted on Thursday, February 17 @ 18:11:50 EST
Topic: illegal Border crossing immigrants
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 By Jerry Seper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published February 17, 2005
Topics: border patrol, Americans, illegal aliens, gangs, drugs, crime, laws, reform, protest.
WASHINGTON -- An organizer of a 500-person blockade of the Arizona-Mexico border called to protest the government's immigration-enforcement policies said yesterday he hopes the effort will "bring national awareness to the illegal-alien invasion crisis threatening our nation."
James W. Gilchrist, a retired California certified public accountant and Vietnam veteran who was wounded in combat, said the volunteers will begin the border vigil "under the colors of their separate state flags" beginning April 1, assembling for "30 days and 30 nights in peace" to observe, film and report the "chaotic conditions at the border in southern Arizona."
"Our members are well-educated, mature and seek to assemble under the rights bestowed to us by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, for the purpose of expressing our sincere disappointment in the lack of U.S. immigration-law enforcement by our political leaders and their appointees," Mr. Gilchrist said.
The number of volunteers has more than doubled over the past month.
The blockade is expected to focus on a 20-mile area in southeastern Arizona known as the San Pedro River Valley, near Naco, Ariz., one of the most popular illegal-alien entry points in the nation. The area is generally level, has water and wood for fires.
More than 1.15 million illegal aliens were apprehended last year by the Border Patrol while attempting to enter the United States. Nearly 40 percent of them were detained in southern Arizona along a 260-mile stretch of border known as the Tucson sector. The Border Patrol has estimated that two aliens successfully enter the country for every one they catch, although other estimates have ranged as high as four aliens entering for each one caught.
The volunteers, operating as members of the "Minuteman Project," will set up what Mr. Gilchrist called "passive observation posts" to report illegal aliens as they cross into the United States. He said the volunteers, who come from 45 states, will not confront or attempt to detain the aliens.
"No deliberate confrontation or detention of the intruders is planned or encouraged by the Minuteman Project," Mr. Gilchrist said. "Its purpose is to be strictly a passive observer, similar to a neighborhood-watch group. Any interception and detention of the illegal aliens is specifically the obligation of the U. S. Border Patrol and other law-enforcement agencies."
Federal and state law-enforcement authorities have expressed concern over the safety of the volunteers, many of whom will camp out along the border.
Tucson Sector Border Patrol Chief Michael Nicely said the agency was "always concerned about civilians who put themselves in danger," adding that alien and drug smugglers who use the area to bring their illicit cargos into the United States have not hesitated to assault his agents.
"It doesn't take a lot of imagination to picture what could happen," he said.
Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever, whose jurisdiction includes the targeted area, also has warned of possible violence and has told those participating in the blockade to obey the law.
"I have no doubt these are well-intentioned and good-hearted people who have recognized a just cause in securing and protecting our borders and stopping the flow of illegal immigration," Sheriff Dever said. "But their methods and their intentions should not and cannot manifest themselves in illegal ways."
Mr. Gilchrist said all the volunteers underwent a screening process before they were accepted to weed out those "with bad intentions." He said it would be "a true disaster and an embarrassment for this mission to fail because we didn't attract the right people."
He said the current roster of volunteers includes six PhDs, two university professors, several dozen current and former members of law enforcement, freelance journalists, teachers, engineers, truck drivers, construction-trade personnel, firemen, EMTs, geologists, homemakers, five physicians, six lawyers, two CPAs, a janitor, some college and divinity students, and three former state-level politicians.
The project also has eight aircraft, each piloted by a volunteer.
I've read enough. I'm ready to join the fight against illegal immigration.
Visit the Minuteman Project (MMP) Website".
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| Article Rating | Average Score: 4.38
Votes: 13
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Re: (Minuteman Project) Border vigil aims at awareness (Score: 1)
by Charlesoakisland on Thursday, February 17 @ 20:00:18 EST
(User Info | Send a Message) | | I'll give Jim Gilchrist and the Minuteman Project a 5 star vote any time. It's just great what they are doing, off the computer and into the field. |
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