Thread: Minuteman Talk in Upper Napa Valley

http://www.sthelenastar.com/articles/20 ... 026080.txt

Minuteman discusses immigration with local Republican women


By Jesse Duarte
STAFF WRITER
Thursday, February 15, 2007 8:21 AM PST

Many consider the Minutemen, the volunteers who patrol America's borders, to be a passel of drunken, racist cowboys. According to Minuteman Steve Giraud, that conception is completely wrong.

Giraud, a member of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps (MCDC), told members of the Upper Napa Valley Republican Women Federated Monday that his organization is dedicated to promoting border security by observing and reporting illegal activity on the border, and never confronting or pursuing those responsible.

"We are not to actively seek out and pursue illegal activity," Giraud said. "If it presents itself to us, we are to report it to the local law enforcement agency."

He said that each new member of the MCDC is screened for criminal behavior or racist tendencies.

While members of the MCDC carry a gun for self-defense, they are prohibited from carrying a round in the chamber, and no one on either side of the border has been injured during an MCDC patrol, Giraud said.

On the rare occasions when the MCDC makes contact with illegal immigrants, it is to provide water and blankets, particularly when children are suffering from the harsh desert conditions.

"Why aren't we leaving this up to the experts? Well, where are they?" said Giraud, who portrayed the Border Patrol as a woefully understaffed agency whose members welcome the Minutemen's help.

"I like to think that when our government finally decides to place government troops on the border and secures it with sound fencing, I'll be able to go home and spend time with my family," he said.

Giraud said his concerns about the 15,000 illegal immigrants who cross the border daily revolve around national security, economics, safety and sovereignty.

"These guys are heavily armed out there," said Giraud. "This isn't just about families coming across looking for a better way of life. It is about a massive drug-smuggling operation."

Terrorism is also a major concern, Giraud said. About 20 percent of those crossing the border illegally are from countries other than Mexico. Agents have even found an underground makeshift mosque near the border, he said.

About 20 percent of those crossing the border are felons, child predators, gang members or drug dealers, Giraud said. The criminal influence is clear in Los Angeles, where black and Hispanic gangs have prompted Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to call on international aid to stop the escalating violence, Giraud added.

The "coyotes" who escort illegal immigrants across the border often schedule their crossings for the times when the Border Patrol agents are changing shifts. By being particularly vigilant and visible at those times, the MCDC can limit crossings, Giraud said.

Minutemen have witnessed the brutality of the coyotes, who often smuggle drugs along with their human clientele. Giraud said that in one location, Minutemen witnessed young girls and women being raped by coyotes at gunpoint. Female undergarments are often draped over trees on the Mexican side of the desert to remind crossers of the price they will have to pay to cross into America, he said.

Giraud said Mexico is hesitant to control the flow of illegal immigrants going to America because they later return a large portion of their wages to their families in Mexico, who put it into the struggling Mexican economy — and use it to finance their own crossings.

“Mexico deported over a quarter million illegals from their southern border over the last year alone,” he said. “Why is it OK for Mexico to do this and not us?”

Giraud said the term Minuteman is used too loosely. He explained that his is one of over 300 groups that patrol the border — not always as peacefully and responsibly as the MCDC. Some of those groups even enter Mexico to carry out covert missions against illegal activity, a tactic Giraud said he does not condone.

The MCDC, led by Chris Simcox, split from the nationally known Minuteman Project, led by Jim Gilchrist, in Dec. 2005, Giraud said. The MCDC has about 10,000 members, including 2,000 in California.

The MCDC is currently building a fence on the U.S.-Mexico border. About 30 miles of fencing have been completed or mended by the MCDC so far, Giraud said.

Upper Napa Valley RWF Vice President Cindy Warren said the most compelling aspect of Giraud's presentation were his accounts of the drugs and disease such as tuberculosis and even leprosy that cross the border. The criminal influence is probably much stronger near the border than in the Napa Valley, she said.

"I'm blown away by these kids who come here and exceed all expectations," said Warren, who serves on the St. Helena school board. "They're assimilating into the American way of life."

More than likely there are some criminals within the different groups that are trying to make the minutemen look bad. for the most part the minutemen are just trying to stop criminal aliens from crossing the border.