Thread: Have we been reduced to this?

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/opinion/11762927.htm

Posted on Sun, May. 29, 2005

Have we been reduced to this?

Two writers answer one question: Are volunteers like Arizona's Minutemen needed to stem illegal immigration?

By Chuck Green

Knight Ridder/Tribune

DENVER - Imagine dialing 911 and having someone answer, "Volunteer Office -- may we help you, please?"

A couple of hours later, after the robbers have tied you to a chair and fled with all the family jewels dumped in a pillow case, a middle school soccer coach and his neighbor, an insurance agent, arrive at your house in a 1994 station wagon and find you bound and gagged in the kitchen.

"Somebody here call for help?" the two-man volunteer squad inquires.

After they untie you and get you a glass of water to quench your thirst, they apologize for being late -- explaining that soccer practice wasn't over until 6 and there was an after-work retirement party at the insurance agency.

It will be a while, they inform you, before the trained investigators can get here with the crime kit, because they're busy at a murder scene across town.

Welcome to the world of law enforcement by auxiliary.

That's basically what America's Border Patrol resembles in the post-9-11 era of red-orange-yellow-lavender-fuchsia heightened alerts. What the regular troops can't handle -- and that's a lot -- is left for the volunteer Minutemen patrol.

To a large extent, the nation's borders are unprotected. Despite billions having been spent on airport security, satellite surveillance, chemical warfare training for county sheriffs, jet fighter crews on 24-hour scramble duty, intensified Coast Guard patrols, a global no-fly anti-terrorist computer list and greater scrutiny of crop-duster schedules, thousand of miles of U.S. border still goes unguarded.

And one solution being considered is the use of citizen patrols along the Mexican border with Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. A similar proposal also would extend citizen border guards along the U.S.-Canadian border.

Such suggestions only emphasize how sorry the situation is. Who would have imagined during the supercharged months of security-consciousness after 9-11 that our border protection would be provided by volunteer squads in pickups, SUVs and family sedans?

Yet that is where we have come. In a recent demonstration of such tactics, the Minuteman Project devoted most of April to patrolling a 23-mile stretch of southeastern Arizona border and pledged to offer "franchise" expansion of its service later this year in Texas, New Mexico, Idaho and Michigan.

It might be just coincidence, but law enforcement sources have for years considered Idaho and Michigan two of the most active areas for right-wing militia groups in the United States. Minuteman Project organizers repeatedly have denied any such sympathies with those often racist, white supremacist cells.

Assuming that the Minuteman Project can prevent such malcontents from joining its ranks, it's still not a good idea to have civilian patrols, motivated by the Second Amendment right to form citizen militias, manning sentry posts in Cochise County or elsewhere.

At one such checkpoint last month, according to an Arizona Republic report, a pharmaceutical salesman from Amarillo had established a Minuteman Project "trip wire" consisting of a rope and beer cans. Others were using more sophisticated gear, including night-vision devices, but they were considered to be crudely equipped at best.

Although President Bush and many members of Congress have decried the citizen patrols, they have done little to secure the borders with federal personnel. Although airports in Des Moines and Nashville might be considered secure, the 200-mile border west of Nogales, Ariz., is porous as a sieve.

Congress's reaction to the 9-11 disaster has been a travesty.

There already are an estimated 10 million illegal immigrants in the United States. Most officials agree that more get through than are stopped, and 500,000 were arrested in Arizona last year alone.

Soccer coaches, insurance agents and pharmaceutical salesmen shouldn't be America's first line of defense. It's a disgrace that lies right at the doorsteps of Congress and the White House.
Chuck Green is a former editor of The Denver Post. 1650 Broadway, Denver, Colo. 80202 chuckgreencolo@msn.com. This essay was distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.

Apparentely, the billions of dollars WE give to Homeland Security for the very purpose of protecting American citizens, is being invested elsewhere. Thank God for the Minutemen and other groups forming, to help keep our country secure. The government of "we, the people" seems to be fixated on other agendas. Such as, allowing people of other nations to be 'chosen or elected' into high ranking political positions, that allow them to look out for the interests of their own countries, and not the United States of America.

and now KYLE & CORNYN want an immigrations czar!! More Tax Dollars down the drain?

It's preposterous!


MASSIVE TAX STRIKE

Assuming that the Minuteman Project can prevent such malcontents from joining its ranks, it's still not a good idea to have civilian patrols, motivated by the Second Amendment right to form citizen militias, manning sentry posts in Cochise County or elsewhere.

Then, tell me, what IS a good idea? Troops on the border! Our government doesn't hear, doesn't care...they got their Patriot Act thru...and that's all they cared about. Abrogating more of the CITIZEN"S RIGHTS....

RR