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Saturday, September 16, 2006
BORDER
Minutemen plan patrols in October


CALEB HEERINGA
THE BELLINGHAM HERALD


Washington state Minutemen will celebrate their group's one-year anniversary by spending all of October along the Canadian border.
Claude LeBas, director of the Washington state chapter of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, said at least one Minuteman will be present on the border in Whatcom County around the clock for the entire month of October.

After that, the chapter plans to coordinate with Minuteman groups in other states to have a patrol somewhere along the nearly 4,000-mile northern border every day, all year round.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Washington state chapter of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps will kick off its month of patrols with a group patrol at 9 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 1, starting at 7030 Valley View Road in Ferndale.

The controversial group's occasionally armed patrols of the nation's borders have drawn the ire of immigrant rights advocates who accuse the Minutemen of being racially motivated and dangerous.

But the 190 members of the Washington chapter say they report all suspicious activity to the authorities and are helping Border Patrol officials fight illegal immigration, which they say drains taxpayer money and could allow terrorists into the country.

"We report what we see and step back and allow (law enforcement) to do their jobs," LeBas said. "People are beginning to see that we're not racists or hate-mongers, we just want our country back."
Local law-enforcement officials say they have received no reports of local Minutemen breaking the law over the past year.

Minutemen with concealed-weapons permits are allowed to carry handguns, but LeBas said any unholstered weapon is grounds for dismissal from the group. LeBas said they have never had to dismiss anyone for wielding a weapon.

Bob Kohlman, field operations supervisor for the Border Patrol in Blaine, said border officials have received tips from Minutemen in the past year, but said they do not keep records of whether those tips led to arrests.
"Our position is that as long as they are abiding by the law, they have a right as citizens to patrol the border area," Kohlman said.

Rosalinda Guillen, who organized a group to observe the Minutemen's patrols in Whatcom County in April, said the group's presence on the border and support for similar groups on the Mexican border is threatening to the Hispanic community.

"They are divisive," Guillen said. "They help promote hate instead of finding constructive solutions to the problem of immigration reform."


ReachCaleb Heeringa at 715-2260 or caleb.heeringa@bellinghamherald.com.