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Border watchers must observe the rules, too

Lawmaker says scale of problem of illegals 'blows my mind'

By Fernando Quintero, Rocky Mountain News
October 6, 2005

THREE POINTS, Ariz. - Under a canvas tent in this one-intersection town, three Colorado legislators were among 30 volunteers listening to Minuteman Project leader Bob Kuhn go over standard operating procedures.

First and foremost: "A Minuteman can only observe, report and direct to the Border Patrol. We must not make any contact or gestures to people passing through the area," he said Tuesday night.

"We can't even hold our hand up," he added, making a stop motion. "The ACLU will be all over us."

The other rules - 10 in all - read like a Boy Scout manual: Minuteman volunteers are courteous to everyone with whom they come in contact. Volunteers adhere to all federal, state and local laws. Volunteers leave no garbage behind.

He told the group that once they get out in the desert, they are to keep all light and noise to a minimum: "If you want to do us any good, you'll shut your trap."

It was the fourth night of the latest monthlong border-watching effort by the Minuteman Project, a group of citizen volunteers engaged in an ongoing effort to stem illegal immigration from Mexico.

The Minutemen call themselves patriots; critics call them vigilantes.

State Reps. David Schultheis, R-Colorado Springs; Bill Crane, R-Arvada; and Jim Welker, R-Loveland, have been in Arizona since Monday.

They have patrolled the border with the Minutemen, met with lawmakers, and listened to ranchers and other border residents to get a better understanding of illegal immigration.

Their visit - condemned by a coalition of groups in Denver on Wednesday - is in preparation for an upcoming push in the legislature, or possibly the ballot box, to eliminate or limit services to people in the U.S. illegally.

Arizona, a hot spot for border crossings, has taken the lead with its controversial Proposition 200, a measure passed last year by voters to stop health care and public benefits for immigrants.

"The information we've heard tonight (Tuesday) just blows my mind," Welker said. "I didn't quite realize the magnitude of the problem here."

He was referring to the number of illegal crossings that have been recorded in the federal Border Patrol's 93,000-square-mile Tucson sector, which begins at the New Mexico state line and ends at Yuma County in Arizona.

More than 438,000 apprehensions were made last year in that area alone, the Border Patrol said. Still, the Minutemen say that the federal government isn't doing enough, thus the border-watching project.

Kuhn says the work volunteers perform is dangerous because so many of those crossing the border illegally are drug smugglers. He said there is a $50,000 bounty on his head from Mexican drug runners.

"I don't know if I'll be here by the end of this project," he said. "These people have the latest in night vision. The best communication. . . . They have AK-47s. My 9 mm ain't going to do a dime's worth against an AK-47."

On Tuesday night, volunteers split into groups of two to four and were sent to various locations along Highway 86, the first major east-west route north of the border in southeast Arizona. If they see what they suspect are illegal immigrants, they call a command center, which contacts Border Patrol officials.

On the side of Highway 86, a retired couple from a Phoenix suburb position themselves on lawn chairs.

"We saw a whole group of illegals come by earlier this evening," said Pat Dietrich, who along with her husband, Clark Dietrich, came to volunteer to take the 3 p.m. to midnight shift for a week.

Most of the volunteers are retirees, except for a young couple that drove out from California.

"Something's got to be done," Clark Dietrich said. "We can't go on ignoring the drugs and the cost to taxpayers in supporting illegals. The government doesn't seem to care enough."

A few feet from the Dietrichs, Schultheis and another volunteer sat motionless.

The red glow from an infrared camera signaled their location.

Schultheis heard over the radio that 10 immigrants had been caught, bringing the evening's total to 24.

"These guys deserve a lot of credit," he whispered. "They're great Americans."