Thread: Editorial: Aid from the state blitzes Minutemen

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Editorial: Aid from the state blitzes Minutemen

Web Posted: 02/27/2006 12:00 AM CST
San Antonio Express-News

Motivated by an important issue — but bloated by self-importance — the Minutemen patrolled the border to stem the tide of illegal immigration.

President Bush called them "a vigilante group," a potentially dangerous intrusion into the realm of law enforcement officials.

That was almost a year ago, and his words ring truer than ever.

Already unnecessary, the Minutemen have been rendered even more superfluous, thanks to a state program dubbed Operation Linebacker, which has allocated nearly $10 million for border security since December.

With much of the money going to bolster sheriff's departments from Brownsville to El Paso, the program created a second line of defense for the Border Patrol.

"They served their purpose by attracting attention," El Paso County Sheriff Leo Samaniego told the El Paso Times recently. "They made their point. Now that we have (Operation) Linebacker, I don't think we need them."

The Minutemen, as stubborn as they are unnecessary, may not go away quietly, but if they really want to serve their country, they will let more qualified people — the law enforcement officials on the border — address the problem.

"We've got a lot of Border Patrol agents trying to chase the good, hardworking people down," Bush told the U.S. Conference of Mayors more than a year ago. "If we make the system work right, if we make it legitimate, then our Border Patrol will be able to chase down true threats to our national security."

With the assaults against journalists in Nuevo Laredo and the intimidation of deputies in Hudspeth County, those threats have become more serious than ever.

Instead of helping solve it, the Minutemen aggravate the problem.

Samaniego is right; Texas does not need them.