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An Unwelcome Wave
Winston-Salem Journal
Monday, August 8, 2005


If the Minuteman Project hasn't already spread to this state, it's probably only a matter of time before it does - unless government officials and citizens show what America's really all about and stand up to this backward movement.

The movement, a volunteer one that started about a year ago and vows to guard America from illegal immigration, began on the Mexican border and has now spread to spots nationwide - including neighboring Tennessee, according to The Associated Press. "It's like O'Leary's cow has kicked over the lantern," said Carl "Two Feathers" Whitaker. He's an American Indian activist and perennial gubernatorial candidate who runs the Tennessee Volunteer Militiamen.

Legend has it that Mrs. O'Leary's cow started the Great Chicago fire of 1871. The Minuteman Project could ultimately be just as detrimental. Earlier this year, hundreds from the group rallied to patrol Arizona's border with Mexico. The movement, unjustly named for real patriots, now has chapters in 18 states, including in California, Utah, Minnesota and Maine, according to The Associated Press.

The Tennessee group's goal, at least for now, seems relatively subdued - exposing those who employ illegal immigrants.

There are certainly problems in the way the U.S. government patrols its borders and deals with the employment of illegal immigrants. But those are problems the government should rectify - not a group of vigilantes. This is supposed to be a land ruled by law - not mobs.

It's doubtful this group could provide much information the government would consider valuable regarding companies that employ illegal immigrants. The government often seems to all but wink at that practice - and at the companies that rake in big bucks by paying illegal immigrants low wages. And, contrary to popular belief, many illegal immigrants do pay taxes.

The Homeland Security Department, while not denouncing the Minuteman Project, does emphasize the need for trained law enforcement in immigration matters. Indeed. One Hispanic activist in Knoxville said he fears that the Minuteman volunteers are "spreading a lot of misinformation and are terrorizing the ethnic community in the area."

An unhealthy tension is building nationwide between Hispanics and Minutemen. In Las Cruces, N.M., on a recent Sunday, Hispanics marched against Minutemen, calling them racist - a charge the group denies. Other Hispanics say the group's real aim is to force them out of the country. There seems to be a ring of truth in that.

But Hispanics aren't leaving, and many are making valuable contributions to this country, often by doing the jobs no one else will take. Many, of course, are here illegally. North Carolinians especially bothered by that should follow the American process and push their politicians to enact immigration reform. And they should condemn those who reject the American way by taking the law into their own hands.