http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=54552

Minutemen picket day labor hiring
By Jackie Leatherman, Tribune
December 4, 2005
Minutemen activists have expanded their campaign against illegal immigration from the barren desert near Mexico to the streets of Phoenix.
On Saturday morning, members of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps’ Phoenix Chapter gathered for the third weekend in a row near the Home Depot at 36th Street and Thomas Road.

They held signs reading: "No more day laborers jumping at our vehicles" and "Now you see why Border Patrol needs help."

Most had cameras hanging around their necks to take pictures of license plates and drivers picking up day laborers. The photographs, they said, would be turned over to federal immigration authorities.

Not more than 50 feet away, about 15 Hispanic men waited by a bus stop for work. They stood separately until a potential employer parked his car in a nearby spot and approached the curb.

Then the men clumped together and within five seconds the potential employer selected two men from the group. They walked past two Phoenix police officers and boarded the man’s car while the Minutemen quietly documented the transaction.

Some motorists passing by cheered in support of the Minutemen while others shouted at the volunteers and made obscene gestures.

Minutemen members said they chose the location because of its notoriety as a gathering spot for Hispanic men â€â€