Thread: Border Patrol chief doesn’t want Minutemen near agents

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Border Patrol chief doesn’t want Minutemen near agents
BY MIGUEL TIMOSHENKOV, LAREDO MORNING TIMES
08/24/2006
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The head of the Border Patrol said Wednesday he doesn’t want members of the Minuteman Project working near his agents when they come to the Laredo area next month.The civilian group, which reports illegal immigrants to immigration authorities, is expected to start patrolling the border in the Laredo area on Sept. 11 and continue through Nov. 7.

Acting Chief Patrol Agent Reynaldo Garza of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Laredo Sector said he can’t prevent the civilians from coming to Laredo, but said they won’t be allowed to interfere with official business.

John Cristian Esquivel, deputy chief, said the agency wants to know where the Minuteman members will be to avoid any problems.

“We’re not going to tell them what they can or can’t do. They are responsible for their own actions,” Esquivel said. “They can be on private property. It’s a matter of who will allow them to occupy their land.”

Texas Minuteman president Shannon McGauley said earlier this week that he expects as many as 2,000 people to participate in the weeks-long patrols. McGauley told the Associated Press that his group will only report illegal immigrant sightings to the Border Patrol and will not approach the immigrants or interfere with law officers.

He declined to say exactly where the members would be patrolling.

Esquivel said that if U.S. citizens should have any trouble with a member of the Minuteman Project, he or she should call the sheriff’s department or other law enforcement authority.

For his part, Garza said members of the project have sought to talk to him to no avail.

“There will be other officials who will hear them,” Garza said.

While Garza has said members of the Minuteman Project have provided information that led to detentions in the past, he emphasized that his agency in no way cedes its responsibility to protect the border.

Mayor Raul Salinas said that if any of the members of the Minuteman Project violate the law, they will be arrested just as any other citizen.

“The Border Patrol forces are professionals and they have maintained peace and safety,” Salinas said. “I think they (Minuteman members) are simply looking for publicity.”

Salinas said Jim Gilchrist, founder of the civilian group, is just looking for media attention to help sell his new book.

State Rep. Richard Raymond deplored the group’s plan to come to Laredo.

“They don’t have anything to do with this community,” Raymond said. “Here, we reject the racism they practice.”

Like Salinas, Raymond believes the group is just seeking publicity. He noted it’s the Border Patrol that is the real authority on the border.

“They are trained and qualified to protect the border,” Raymond said. “If the federal government or the people believe we need more security, then they need to invest in more agents.”

(Miguel Timoshenkov may be reached at (956) 728-2583 or by e-mail at timo1@lmtonline.com)





©Laredo Morning Times 2006

“We’re not going to tell them what they can or can’t do. They are responsible for their own actions,” Esquivel said. “They can be on private property. It’s a matter of who will allow them to occupy their land.”

And you forgot to mention, they can also be on public land.

The border patrol down in Loredo does not seem too happy the Minutemen are going in this area.

I can't but help wonder Why?!

It makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Are they afraid the Minutemen might see some things they don't want them to see?

Why else would a government agency that is clearly not doing its job, be afraid for civilians to be around?

State Rep. Richard Raymond deplored the group’s plan to come to Laredo.
“They don’t have anything to do with this community,” Raymond said. “Here, we reject the racism they practice.”

Since this dope can't come up with any other reason, he spouts off with the racism bit. I pity Texas having a loser like this in their state house.

Sounds like he is telling the people and the government how it is going to be.

I don't understand where this guy is coming from, I have never heard anything about the minutemen interfering with the Border Patrol, in fact they usually do everything they can to help them.
If the minutemen are racist then what do you call someone who is payed to go out and catch illegals?

I don't understand where this guy is coming from, I have never heard anything about the minutemen interfering with the Border Patrol, in fact they usually do everything they can to help them.

I seriously doubt Acting Chief Patrol Agent Reynaldo Garza is really concerned about the minutemen interferring. More than likely he is worried that the minutemen will actually see how little the border patrol in that sector is doing to protect the border.

Look, I know this is going to come off as a little racist and I'm sorry for that, but curiousity is killing me - exactly what percentage of the U.S. Border Patrol is Hispanic? How many of them have relatives and friends across the border? Most of the names I have seen over the last few months in relationship to border patrol agents have been Latino names. Are most of the agents from areas around the border? I'm not questioning the integrity of ever border patrol agent on the border, but we've all heard of crooked BP agents getting busted for aiding smugglers in trafficing humans and drugs across the border. Why can't we get a lot of folks on the border that have no ties to the border area and Mexico? Wouldn't doing so help keep everyone honest?

I may be way off base here, because I don't really know how many of the agents were born and raised in the border area or have family and friends in Mexico. Can anyone more familar with the border areas answer the question?

MW, I'll try to answer your question here, but first let me say I have the greatest respect for the Border Patrol. They do have their problems with bad agents but they seem to police their own pretty well.
I have met several agents who are of Hispanic heritage, one guy was from Peru. These agents are often of great value as they are fluent in spanish. I have also met many who are of european heritage and it seems to me they are of the majority, keep in mind this is only what I see.
While we often hear about the ones that go bad we seldom hear about the ones that do good, this is just the way our media works.

I think all of these people who seem to be so "threatened" by the presence of the Minutemen need to be investigated for having possible ties to drug smugglers and illegal alien smugglers.

They seem to be incriminating themselves with their obvious nervousness about having these good law-abiding American citizens on the border with them.

In my opinion they have something to hide and it could be something very serious that the American people and the Border Patrol and the FBI and everyone else needs to know about.

I vote for an investigation into this section of the border patrolled and directed by these particular individuals who are so uncomfortable with being observed by law abiding American Citizens.

Very suspicous, to say the least.