Members of a city-appointed advisory committee passed a resolution restricting the actions of vigilante groups on Tuesday.


The Rev. Alfred Krebs, pastor of the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, speaks at a press conference against anti-immigrant vigilantes.


The resolution, which targeted civilian border defense groups such as the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, requires approval by the Austin City Council, and will be considered at a later meeting.

Only four citizens were allowed to testify at the Austin Commission on Human Rights, and no members or supporters of the Minutemen were at the meeting.

"Vigilantism is beyond the pale. It is like executing the mentally ill and children, it is like torture, it is unthinkable," said Paul Sherr, a member of the Austin Central Labor Council at the hearing. An ESL teacher and a Unitarian preacher also testified before the commission.

The Minutemen, an Arizona-based group that started a Texas chapter this summer, seeks to "report and observe" illegal immigrants entering the United States.

"The U.S. Border Patrol are good at their work but they're outmanned, underpaid and understaffed," said Phil Johnson, leader of the Minutemen's Houston chapter.

Johnson said that the Minute-men are sometimes equipped with personally financed night-vision equipment that is better than that of the border police.

The Border Patrol did not respond to requests for comment.

Alessandra Lippucci, a government professor who specializes in constitutional issues, said that even if law enforcement officials think that vigilante groups are helping, the civilian groups still do not have the same authority as the Border Patrol. Lippucci also questioned whether the government actually needs and wants such support.

"If we really wanted people power at the border, we would have it," Lippucci said.

The commission's resolution would create a network of local community leaders and organizations to monitor groups like the Minutemen to ensure that no act or threat of force is made toward illegal immigrants.

William Hale, chair of the commission, said that his main fear about the Minutemen is that they have been infiltrated by white supremacist organizations. Hale quoted an investigation conducted by the Southern Poverty Law Center, a liberal civil rights organization, which found some Minutemen to have white supremacist sympathies.

Johnson said that before being admitted Minutemen volunteers must get a criminal background check and be interviewed, to screen for agitators and racists.

He said he believes that efforts to place limits on the activities of the Minutemen will not be successful.

"We're American, we're here to stay," said Johnson. "We will overshadow the socialist and communists who are against us."

Yvonne Montejano, an associate of the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker human rights group which drafted the resolution, said that she doesn't expect the resolution the keep Minutemen from coming to Austin.

"This is a proactive decision," she said. "It will regulate them."
END


"Vigilantism is beyond the pale. It is like executing the mentally ill and children, it is like torture, it is unthinkable," said Paul Sherr,"

It sounds like they need to regulate hysterical moonbats.


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