Thread: Minutemen step up efforts to guard nation's border

Published: April 03, 2007 12:00 am

Minutemen step up efforts to guard nation's border

The Norman Transcript

Several Oklahomans are expected to be among the hundreds of volunteers who convene on the U.S.-Mexico border this month in search of people who are crossing the border illegally into the United States.

The Minutemen's third annual muster along the nation's Southwestern border is a symptom of American immigration that needs reform. The group will camp out along the border, sit up in lawn chairs and spotlight persons who they see coming across the border.

It's a 24-hour-a-day operation. The first one was in April of 2005 and was widely protested by human rights groups. The Minutemen are called vigilantes.

If nothing changes -- and there is no reason to suspect that it will -- they will do it again in October. They stop people who cross the border illegally and then call the proper authorities.

The Tulsa World, in an interview with the group's leader, reports Minutemen don't detain or arrest anyone. They lack such authority. They don't agree with granting amnesty to the immigrants already here, something many in Congress want.

The border operations are scheduled for 30 days in April and October and organizers expect about 3,500 to participate. They claim their activities have led to the apprehension of over 13,466 illegal entrants since October 2002, and have provided life-saving aid to over 286 illegal entrants.

http://www.normantranscript.com/opinion ... ndarystory

Our government is so corrupt and incompetent that American's are having to form human chains to protect the borders. How I wish we could kick every politician out of office and replace them with real Americans.

If we could get real Americans to run for office, it would be easier than the ones the wealthy give us to choose from.

pretty bad all the tax money they are getting to secure our borders and then citizens have to watch over them like a bunch of babies!!!

April 5, 2007

Vigilantes mobilize
By JORGE BARRERA, NATIONAL BUREAU

The British Columbia border with Washington State is overrun with human smuggling coming from Canada, says the Winnipeg-born head of a Washington vigilante group promising to "shut down" the border this month.

A Metis and Vietnam veteran, Claude LeBas, 60, said the U.S. needs to beef up its border security with Canada.

He says the planned shutdown is a national "muster" of Minutemen Civil Defense Corps members.

"Canada's security measures lack a great deal due to their lax immigration laws," said LeBas, in a phone interview with Sun Media from Minutemen state chapter headquarters 12 km from the border.

CONCEALED WEAPONS

LeBas said there have been "hundreds" of human smuggling incidents sighted along the border in the past two years.

"There have been several groups of Indians, Chinese and Middle Eastern people that have been apprehended crossing illegally," he said. "Not to mention the Hispanics that are trafficking in drugs going north."

LeBas said about 200 people -- many licensed to carry concealed weapons -- will patrol the border 24 hours a day, seven days a week throughout the month.

Volunteers are coming from Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Minnesota. Nobody will be able to enter the U.S. or Canada unless they travel through the border crossings, said LeBas.

"The plan is to shut down the border completely. We are going to have enough people to do that," he said.

"This border is where the most problems are because of the forests and the mountain range. It makes it easy to get in. There are so many off-road car routes that we have discovered."

WEEKEND PATROLS

The Washington State operation is the largest along the Canada-U.S. border. New Hampshire and New York have chapters, but neither have the volunteer heft to keep operations going 24/7.

"We have 36 members and they all can't go to the border for a lot of reasons," said Ron Oplinus, head of the New Hampshire chapter, which is planning weekend patrols after the Easter break.

The Minutemen emerged from grassroots frustration over the high numbers of Mexican and Latin American migrants illegally crossing the southern U.S. border. The vigilante group has since split.

The muster also includes much larger operations along the Arizona, New Mexico and Texas borders with Mexico.

"We would like Congress and the Senate and the president to get off their duff and secure our borders," said LeBas.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Canada/ ... 3-sun.html

The British Columbia border with Washington State is overrun with human smuggling coming from Canada, says the Winnipeg-born head of a Washington vigilante group promising to "shut down" the border this month.

This isn't biased in the least.....nope!

Btw, the border is wide open up there. One of my sons hiked from Alaska right on down through BC across the U.S. border without a single problem only 2 years ago.

I did't realize we had that many people coming in that way, they have led us to believe not alot of people try it because it is so easy to get lost in these mountains, not to mention bears, mountain lions and many other not so friendly fury creatures, why maybe theres a big foot up there!! Here that illegals, it could happen!!!I know for a fact I live in those mountains!