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Minutemen Patrols Begin in the Valley
Oct 28, 2005, 04:33 AM
Reported By Ray Pedraza

The Minutemen are on the move. They've been on the ground, in the air and along the river patrolling our border, even here in the Valley.

On Thursday, Action 4 News reporter Ray Pedraza was granted exclusive access inside their operation and joins us with more on the Minuteman movement.

For the past several weeks, the Minutemen say they've played a significant role in helping U.S. Border Patrol agents catch undocumented immigrants in Brooks County.

And they say part of their success comes from air patrols assisting border watchers on the ground.

Grant Lannon is part of what's called the Minutemen's "Air Wing Operation".

He pilots a single engine plane from Falfurrias to the Rio Grande and scouts all points in between.

"Some of our night operations have involved big round-ups because our people on the ground spot people moving," says Lannon. "And if we're in the air, they normally tend to hide with an airplane overhead and so it gives Border Patrol time to get there."

Their job he says is to spot and report.

And while our camera was in flight, we captured this exclusive footage. From the air, it appears to be an illegal immigrant carrying a water jug along U.S. 281 who then gets a lift in the back of a truck.

The Minutemen call Border Patrol and the suspect vehicle is tracked down.

As for their presence in the Valley, the Minutemen have been low key on private property.

But Minuteman supervisor Kim Fromme says they plan to expand their operation here.

"Sure we're gonna go find land that the landowners will let us use," said Fromme. "We'll bring our volunteers out here to do their watches."

Action 4 News had exclusive access to one of the privately owned ranches in Pharr where the river banks appear to be popular for illegal crossing.

We found a life jacket, litter and evidence of high traffic.

The ground operation there was also supported by air patrols.

But on this mission, the spotter with Mr. Lannon says "no swimmers" in sight.


There are only three days left in the 30 day "Secure Our Borders" operation and so far Fromme is hailing it a success.

"We said this operation would be successful if it was a safe one," Fromme said. "We weren't worried about numbers."

But if they were worried about numbers, they might be impressed.

Fromme claims Border Patrol's detention rate has increased from 8 percent to 23 percent since they arrived. It's a claim federal agents won't deny or confirm.

He hopes Washington will realize once and for all that with more agents, they could prevent what the Minutemen call the "invasion" of illegals into our country.

"That's it, that's it. Secure our borders. Put boots on the ground. When our government stands up, we stand down."

While their 30 day operation expires in 3 days, the Minutemen plan to continue sporadic patrols with support from the Valley.

In fact, Minuteman ranch owner Mike Vickers, of Falfurrias, says a Minuteman chapter has already formed in McAllen with several local volunteers.

Their goal, says Vickers, is to line-up volunteers from Zapata to Brownsville.