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Anti-Minuteman protesters hope to block border May 1
Officials from Douglas, Agua Prieta criticize plan by National Alliance for Human Rights
April 23, 2005

Pro-immigrant activists plan to block the border between Douglas and Agua Prieta on May 1 to protest the Minuteman Project and illustrate how the economies of U.S. border towns depend on the Mexican people.
Officials in the two cities criticized the plan. The mayor of Douglas said his city has been "prostituted," first by the Minutemen - a citizen brigade that since April 1 has reported people illegally entering the United States to federal border agents - and now by a group that opposes the project.

"It's frustrating to have outsiders bring their tensions here," Police Chief Charlie Austin said.

The National Alliance for Human Rights intends to rally in Agua Prieta on May 1 and to station volunteers in Mexico who, for six to eight hours, will ask drivers not to cross the border, said Armando Navarro, an ethnic-studies professor at the University of California, Riverside.

"The object of our effort will be to literally close the border," he said.

The Minutemen "represent a growing wave of bigotry and racism aimed at our community," Navarro said. "As they grow, we will grow."

The group is counting on hundreds of protesters to attend the demonstration.

It expects to focus attention on illegal immigration and the Minutemen, who wrapped up their patrol Wednesday. Officials have said the area west of Douglas is the busiest illegal crossing point between the two countries, and some smugglers have shuffled their clients into Texas.

Civil Homeland Defense, an affiliated citizen border patrol group from Tombstone, said a handful of members would continue to monitor the border. One volunteer called the Agua Prieta demonstration "misguided."

"I'm not sure how blocking legal commerce is an effective tool," Grey Deacon said. "I don't think people (driving across the border) will be impressed. They're following the laws of both countries."

Douglas, a 6-square-mile town with some 18,000 people, relies on shoppers from Agua Prieta in the state of Sonora and other Mexican towns who flock to its Wal-Mart, Food City and Safeway.

Some 5 million people legally crossed between the sister cities last year, making the port of entry the 11th busiest on the Mexican border, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Cross-border shoppers drive the town's economy, and its mayor on Wednesday derided the efforts of National Alliance for Human Rights.

"They're prostituting our city just like the Minutemen, for personal gain," Mayor Ray Borane said. "We don't want them here. They're not needed, invited or welcome."

Agua Prieta Mayor David Figueroa said he opposes the blockade.

"It seems to me we can't demand rights by violating rights," he said.

Figueroa said he "respected" the right of Agua Prieta citizens to boycott U.S. goods, as some did last weekend.

Officials with another immigrant-advocate group, Border Action Network, said four community members would travel to Washington, D.C., next week for a congressional briefing and to meet with congressmen about immigration reform and human rights. They also will present a human-rights complaint to the Organization of American States, accusing the U.S. government of failing to prosecute border vigilantes.