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Group to rally against illegals
By ROGER GARFIELD
rgarfield@dnj.com


All over the United States, people can't escape the controversial topic of illegal immigration — and Rutherford County is right in the thick of it.

Just this week, a restaurant owner in Iowa pleaded guilty to hiring an illegal immigrant. A billboard in North Carolina showed a Mexican flag hovering above an upside down American flag, next to the words: "Had Enough?" Employers in Oregon began using a federal program to verify the immigration status of their workers.

Saturday, the issue will be on full display here in Murfreesboro, as the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps plans to conduct a noon rally at the Rutherford County Courthouse on the Public Square.

"Our mission is to try and stop our government from giving away benefits that American citizens need, primarily to start with securing our borders, " said Jim Carter, state director of the Minutemen.

The organization — for which Carter established a Tennessee chapter five months ago — originated in April 2005, when a group of American citizens gathered at the U.S.-Mexican border to report illegal immigrants. They call themselves a "citizen's neighborhood watch on our border."

While Murfreesboro is hundreds of miles removed from that border, Carter says illegal immigration affects Tennesseans as much as anyone.

"They're not coming here to gain legal status; they're coming here to take over the United States," Carter said. "And it's not all the illegals' fault. It's their fault that they're here, but the employers are inviting them here."

The corps in Tennessee, Carter says, is about 80 strong. He hopes for a big turnout Saturday so he can recruit more volunteers.

To help his cause, Carter has invited several area politicians to speak at the rally, including Republicans Bill Ketron, Oscar Gardner and Joe Carr — each of whom appear on the ballot in the Aug. 3 primary election.

"By them setting their stance, we'll know who to vote for," Carter said.

Ketron, state senator for the 13th District, outlines his views on illegal immigration on his Web site, senatorbillketron.com.

"Many of our laws literally do not apply for illegals," Ketron says. "Illegal immigrants cannot be held accountable for their actions."

Ketron has suggested honing in on driver's licenses and identification as a way of controlling immigration.

State Rep. John Hood, D-Murfreesboro, says passing legislation on the issue is difficult.

"So much of it is federal law, that the state just can't arbitrarily do a lot of these things," Hood said.

In May, Hood co-sponsored a bill in the Tennessee House of Representatives that would have allowed state law enforcers to investigate legal status during the normal course of their duties further than they're currently allowed.

The bill passed in the House, but not in the Senate.

"I'm continuing to look for more regulation, more restrictions, more control from the national level," Hood said.

While no significant legislation has yet been passed, the Minutemen are doing what they can to stop illegal immigration.

"After our rally, we'll start calling businesses to let them know if they hire illegals, we'll have protesters standing outside their work sites," Carter said. "Everyone that hires an illegal, that makes them a felon."

President Bush has called the group's tactics "vigilante."

"Anybody can call us names; people call us racist, but we are not racist," said Carter. "Well, in a way we are, because we are racist against people who are breaking the law."

— Roger Garfield, 278-5102