Anti-illegal immigration Border Convoy headed to El Paso

Protesters want to 'stop the invasion'

By Luis Carlos Lopez / El Paso Times
POSTED: 08/01/2014 10:53:12 PM MDT

An anti-illegal immigration convoy to "stop the invasion" traveling from California to South Texas will be visiting El Paso this weekend.

The nine-day Border Convoy tour began Friday in Murrieta, Calif. and is traveling to McAllen, Texas.

The Border Convoy bills itself as a coalition of citizens who share a "deep concern for the invasion currently happening unchecked at our nation's borders," according to the group's website.

Eric Odom, managing editor of LibertyNews.com and organizer of Border Convoy, said that protesters plan to rally at an immigration facility to draw attention to the immigration crisis.

"We'll have some decent crowds at these facilities," Odom said. "And do similar to what we did in Murrieta by getting out and making a statement, helping draw attention that the border is open."

Murrieta received national attention for recent protests that forced buses with undocumented children to turn back from a detention facility.

The convoy's website has a petition against "Barack Obama's FOREIGN INVASION of our country and I stand with communities across America that are rising up to push back and demand that our borders be secured and our laws enforced."

The convoy has a possible stop in Las Cruces and is expected to arrive in El Paso between 1:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. Sunday. The time and location of a rally on Sunday in El Paso will not be released until Saturday. The information will be posted on borderconvoy.com.
Border Convoy organizers delivered a 35,000-signature petition in support of the stand some Murrieta residents took against the Department of Homeland Security, the group said in a news release.

The convoy plans to stay in El Paso through Monday when they depart for Del Rio, Texas.

The nine-day tour from Murrieta to McAllen includes stops and protests in Phoenix and Tucson.

In response to the Border Convoy, Miguel Juarez, an El Paso community activist and a doctorate student at the University of Texas at El Paso, created a Facebook page to rally support against the convoy.

Through the Facebook page "Stand Against the Murrieta Border Convoy," Juarez has invited immigration activists to rally Sunday.

Once the convoy makes its location public, Juarez said he plans to organize a counter protest.

"I just think it's important for people to have the information that these individuals are coming to express their message of hate," Juarez said. "I think for them to come to a city with a large population of Mexican Americans, it's an outrage."

Luis Carlos Lopez may be reached at 546-6381.

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