Thread: 3 legislators to patrol Arizona border

http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_3073365

3 legislators to patrol Arizona border
By Michael Riley
Denver Post Staff Writer

Three GOP Colorado legislators will spend two nights patrolling the Arizona desert in search of illegal immigrants next week.

Escorted by a controversial group known as the Minuteman Project, the armed patrols are part of a week-long fact-finding mission that will include discussions with local lawmakers in the state hardest hit by the illegal flow of immigrants across the border.

"We need to understand this thing firsthand," said Rep. David Schultheis, R-Colorado Springs, who will lead the group. "It is affecting every area of society, and we have to deal with it."

Schultheis said the legislators - including Rep. Jim Welker of Loveland and Rep. Bill Crane of Arvada - are paying for the trip themselves. They plan to carry guns during the patrols.

He described the mission as a prelude to a major Republican push to address illegal immigration in the Colorado legislature.

He faces big obstacles, say Democratic colleagues, not the least of which is that immigration is almost entirely a federal issue. Schultheis' push in the last session to restrict local services for illegal immigrants failed in committee on a party-line vote.

"If they want to see something, all they have to do is go downtown. There is a corner out there where everyone is jumping into trucks for day labor," said Rep. Val Vigil, D-Thornton.

"Maybe they just have a need to be able to strap a gun around their waist, I don't know. Whatever tickles

their pinky. But it isn't going to help the state of Colorado," he said.
The Minuteman Project became controversial in April, when thousands of volunteers from across the country descended on the Arizona border to conduct citizen patrols. There are as many as 12 million illegal immigrants in the country, most of whom entered through the leaky Southwestern border.

As the number of illegal immigrants in Colorado has climbed, Schultheis said, the costs to the state have ballooned. He said the costs of providing education, emergency health care and prison space easily reaches into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

But Rep. Fran Coleman, D- Denver, said none of that will be helped by joining armed patrols.

"Any state representative or state senator who goes armed into supposedly dangerous areas is asking for trouble," Coleman said. "Why don't they plan a pheasant hunt instead?"

THIS IS GOOD NEWS!!!

Do you think any Democrats would be brave enough to patrol the borders ? Hmmm. How about Ted Kennedy ? Afterall he wrote a bill do deal with it.

Schultheis said the legislators - including Rep. Jim Welker of Loveland and Rep. Bill Crane of Arvada - are paying for the trip themselves. They plan to carry guns during the patrols.

Here is the part I liked. Maybe I ought to send this article to our governor in California since he came out against armed minutemen.

Good for them. Lead by example.

I really like this story. It's one of the best things I've heard all week. In addition to Hostettler's letter and a few more things. I've noticed that a lot of our news is actually getting "better". There are LOTS of little good things happening to indicate that the tide is changing. I know we are thankful for each event, no matter how small it seems. I believe that all these little things will be resulting in a TIDAL WAVE of change coming soon!!

TIDAL WAVE OF CHANGE WARNING NOW IN EFFECT

http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_3076639

Article Launched: 10/01/2005 01:00:00 AM

editorial
Lawmakers' border tour unnecessary
We're not sure what three gun-totin' Colorado lawmakers hope to accomplish by tagging along with the Minuteman Project in Arizona


Three gun-totin' Colorado lawmakers will patrol the desert border between the United States and Mexico in Arizona next week, presumably looking for answers to our illegal immigration problem.

"We need to understand this firsthand," said Rep. Dave Schultheis, R-Colorado Springs, who's leading the group.

The trio will be escorted by members of the controversial Minuteman Project, a group of armed vigilantes that's been patrolling the border between Arizona and Mexico against the wishes of the U.S. Border Patrol and President Bush.

So, just what are these Colorado lawmakers looking for out there in the desert that prompts a field trip?

Stow the gun, we'll save you the trip: Illegals are streaming across the border every day, and there are now some 12 million of them living in the United States, according to some estimates. Don't look now, but another two dozen just made it through.

You don't need to patrol the desert with night-vision goggles and a box of bullets to know that.

We tend to agree with state Rep. Val Vigil, D-Thornton, who said: "If they want to see something, all they have to do is go downtown. There is a corner out there where everyone is jumping into trucks for day labor."

Schultheis will be joined by fellow Republican Reps. Jim Welker of Loveland and Bill Crane of Arvada.

He says the trip is a prelude to a major GOP push to address the illegal immigration issue at the Colorado statehouse. The one-week trip also will include visits with Arizona lawmakers.

Immigration is, first of all, primarily a federal concern and needs to be addressed in Congress.

However, it does affect states and cities as illegals tax hospitals, school systems and other government-funded programs.

We're curious to see if any legislation will come of this trip. At least one citizens' group is planning to put a proposal on the 2006 Colorado ballot that would cut off public services to illegals, similar to one approved last fall by Arizona voters.

It's no secret the United States has an illegal immigration problem, but we're not sure how the night-time patrols of three armed Colorado lawmakers helps satisfy anything other than their interest in playing desert cowboy.