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Monday, February 13, 2006 :: infoZine Staff :: page
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Colo. Rep. Says U.S. Border Needs Military
Patrols
By Michael Malik - Speaking to volunteers who patrol U.S. borders looking for illegal immigrants, Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., said Wednesday the issue has put the country at war.


Washington, D.C. - Scripps Howard Foundation Wire - infoZine - Tancredo cited increasing numbers of illegal immigrants and the possible incursion of the Mexican military onto U.S. soil as proof. Both the Mexican and U.S. governments say it is uncertain if uniformed people who crossed the border were Mexican soldiers.

"I am asking the president, commit the military to this border. We have a war," Tancredo told about 40 members of the Minuteman Project outside the U.S. Capitol. "We are facing a military on the other side of the border who periodically comes to this side of the border."

Tancredo said the U.S. cannot have a guest worker program because the country's borders are "porous." President Bush, who proposed the guest worker program, is unwilling to secure U.S. borders, Tancredo said.

"He has the power to do so, the resources to do so and the ability to do so," Tancredo said. "The unfortunate dirty truth of the matter is he has no desire to do so."

The Minuteman Project, which puts volunteers on U.S. border with Mexico to look for illegal immigrants, organized the rally in attempt to influence U.S. Senators' votes on the guest worker bill, due for a vote soon.

About 20 people stood nearby, holding signs saying, "Change your name, you're still the KKK," and chanting, "They are our brothers, they are our sisters, immigrants are welcome here."

Jim Gilchrist, Minuteman Project founder, said the project's work is not racially or ethnically motivated, as some might believe.

Two men walked up to the rally dressed in black pants, tan shirts, wearing swastikas and saluting Hitler. Gilchrist shouted, "Go to hell, Nazis!" U.S. Capitol police escorted them away but allowed them to demonstrate.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., said his proposal in place of a guest worker program is to allow prisoners to be paid for work now done by illegal immigrants.

"Some of that money can go to compensate their victims," he said. "Some of that can go to pay for their own incarceration, and some of it can go to themselves so when they leave prison they'll have a little nest egg to help them re-enter society as an honest person."

Cheri Chandler, 59, from Temecula, Calif., a Minuteman volunteer, said she would vote for Tancredo for president, and the Senate does not have a good report card on illegal immigration.

"We want to get the word to the Senate that we are not in favor of any guest worker programs at all," Chandler said. "We need to secure our borders first and when that's been done, then we can see where we are at with a guest worker program."