Thread: Activists Protest Illegal Immigration Opponents

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/4681517/detail.html

Activists Protest Illegal Immigration Opponents
Minuteman Project Founder Defends Group

POSTED: 2:50 pm PDT July 4, 2005
UPDATED: 2:59 pm PDT July 4, 2005

SAN DIEGO -- More than 250 activists demonstrated against a controversial civilian border patrol group and other organizations that oppose illegal immigration during a march near the U.S-Mexico border.

Protesters banged drums, chanted and burned sage Sunday as they wound through San Ysidro in San Diego County, crossing an Interstate 5 overpass that overlooks the busy San Ysidro border crossing.

Organized by a coalition of immigrant-rights groups, Gente Unida, the demonstration took aim at the Minuteman Project and other groups seeking tighter border security.

"Minuteman and other vigilante groups are not Neighborhood Watch," said Enrique Morones, of the Border Angels, a group that sets up desert water stations for immigrants. "We set the agenda, not them."

Minuteman Project founder Jim Gilchrist defended the group, which has attracted hundreds of volunteers to the Arizona-Mexico border since April to watch for illegal immigrants.

"The Minutemen want the U.S. to return to the rule of law and sovereignty," Gilchrist said. "Are we biased against illegal aliens? Absolutely. Are we biased against legal immigrants? No, we are not."

Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

"Minuteman and other vigilante groups are not Neighborhood Watch," said Enrique Morones, of the Border Angels, a group that sets up desert water stations for immigrants. "We set the agenda, not them."

No you don't