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Cornyn to Minutemen: Back Off
LAST UPDATE: 6/27/2005 10:47:40 PM
Posted By: Jim Forsyth
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U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) today urged the civilian "Minuteman" border patrol organization not to begin operation along the Texas-Mexico border in October as planned, expressing concern that the group's activities could do more harm than good.

"I would hope that everybody who is concerned about the porous nature of our borders would allow the federal government to act," Cornyn told 1200 WOAI news this morning.

The Minuteman action "may actually not help solve the problem but may create a new and additional problem," Cornyn said.

"So my preference would be to let the federal government do the job the federal government is supposed to do."

Cornyn said he is preparing to introduce a comprehensive immigration control measure along with Senator John Kyl (R-Arizona) next month. He said he hopes many of the measure included in that bill will address the concerns the Minutemen have been raising.

He said a budget measure set to be discussed this week is designed to take Homeland Security funding from other projects and move that money to boost security along the Texas-Mexico border.

"With our enemies exploiting our vulnerability to a porous border, it is important that we move on this issue."

Cornyn stressed that his proposal, which is expected to reach President Bush's desk by the end of the year, will not include an amnesty for people already in this country illegally.

"We need to deal with employer verification and employer responsibility. We need to give them the tools to determine whether an employee is legal to work in the United States. We need additional money for Border Patrol agents, and a new commitment to technology. But we also need to have a 'common sense and realistic' temporary worker program, which allows them to come into the U.S. and work legally, but then requires that they return to their home countries with the skills they learned and the money they earned in the United States," Cornyn said.

Cornyn said repeatedly that he feels the Minutemen have brought attention to problems along the border, and he understands their frustration with a lack of border controls. But he doesn't think putting untrained civilians along the increasingly dangerous border is the right way to handle the problem.

"What I worry about is if civilians step in, there will be an unexpected conflict, there will be some incident where somebody could get hurt."

He cited the danger posed by drug traffickers, traffickers in illegal immigrants, and violent syndicates like the MS-13 organization.

The Arizona based Minutemen group announced plans last week for four chapter in Texas to begin patrolling the Texas-Mexico border in October, possibly as part of a larger effort to string civilian patrols from San Diego in the west to Brownsville in the east.

But since then, groups have emerged in San Antonio, Corpus Christi, and elsewhere dedicated to opposing the Minutemen's efforts, causing the issue to become politically charged.