Thread: AZ: Legalized Civilian Militia Groups to Watch Border

Legalized Civilian Militia Groups the Answer to Arizona's Border Security Problems? | On the Record

Special Guests | Arizona State Rep.-elect Jack Harper


This is a rush transcript from "On the Record," January 3, 2011. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST: OK, hold onto your seat! Is Arizona about to do it again? Now, first they shook up things with their illegal immigration law, and now Arizona State Representative-elect Jack Harper is pushing to form a militia group in his state. Griff Jenkins has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFF JENKINS, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Last year, Arizona passed its controversial new immigration law known as SB-1070. Now it appears that not all Arizonans feel that that law went far enough to cover all of the state's illegal immigration and border woes.

One state legislator, Jack Harper, plans to introduce a bill early this year that would establish a state militia under the direction of the Arizona National Guard to help patrol the border.

Jack, in 2007, you passed legislation to create a state-sanctioned militia here in Arizona. The then-governor, Napolitano, vetoed it. You're now going to bring it back. Where are we with that?

STATE REPRESENTATIVE-ELECT JACK HARPER, R-ARIZ.: Thank you, Griff. Yes, in 2007, we had bipartisan support to establish the Homeland Security Force. It's like a state defense force, that 23 other states and Puerto Rico have, of volunteers to augment their National Guard. And -- but our goal is not to use this only in times of natural disaster, but also to observe our border and report to the National Guard and the National Guard reinforce the border. So it's kind of like a force multiplier on a less expensive plan.

JENKINS: Why does Arizona need this?

HARPER: Well, you might have heard that three of the four border states are losing their National Guard troops now. And Arizona is supposed to lose the federally funded National Guard troops in June or July. Well, we're going to get crushed once the National Guard's off the border because the -- the -- the -- these forces in Mexico that smuggle illegal aliens and drugs into our country, they're more considered with the National Guard than they are Border Patrol. Border Patrol's under -- you know, it's under Janet Napolitano, and that's not really an intimidating factor.

But a military uniformed person on the border makes a lot more sense. Now, using the Homeland Security Force volunteers to observe the border and the National Guard to react to incursions across our border is something that we're going to explore, should the National Guard under -- with federal funding leave our border.

JENKINS: How much are we talking about? What do you think something like this costs?

HARPER: Just to establish the Homeland Security Force -- it'd be volunteers trained by volunteers, maybe with -- with definitely oversight by the Arizona Army National Guard -- that shouldn't take more than one full-time employee and maybe about $50,000, $60,000 a year of state funding. To deploy the National Guard to the border by themselves could be between $60 million and $185 million a year. But when you use this force multiplier of volunteers to observe the border and you use the National Guard as a ready reactionary force to actually be the ones to enforce the border and to supply the Homeland Security Force -- just to keep -- sustain them in observing the border, it should be a lot cheaper than $185 million a year.

JENKINS: What does Governor Brewer think about this? Have you had conversations with her about this idea?

HARPER: Governor Brewer, for the second bill about funding, training, equipping and deploying the Homeland Security Force and the National Guard at the border -- she still maintains that it is the responsibility of the federal government to control the border. And I agree with her on that. But we are going to get crushed in June when the National Guard leaves the border, and everybody knows that. It'll be back to the way it was. You know, the -- these drug cartels will be rushing people across the border and we'll just get overrun.

The first bill, though, to establish the Homeland Security Force, I believe I'm going to have bipartisan support again. And I don't know that Governor Napolitano -- I'm sorry -- Governor Brewer will be opposed to that, like Governor Napolitano was.

JENKINS: Well, and have you had conversations with Governor Brewer? Have you said, Hey, listen, I think we need this, I'm going to do this in the new legislature. What did she say?

HARPER: Well, I know when Governor Brewer was a state senator, she was just as conservative as I am. So I believe, ideologically, she believes that the border has to be secured. I believe she believes in a strong national defense. I think she'll be OK with establishing the Homeland Security Force. I have -- I have tweaked the language a little bit from 2007 to ensure that the control of the Homeland Security Force will be completely under the executive branch and the adjutant general, the governor. So I don't know that the governor will be opposed.

JENKINS: But have you talked to her about this?

HARPER: I have explained it to her people, and they have not -- they have not come out against creating the Homeland Security Force. But they have come out saying that they're apprehensive about funding securing the border when it is the federal government's responsibility.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/on-the-re ... y-problems

YES! YES! YES! YES!



Lets go Arizona! Lets go Republicans! Lead the way!

DO IT!
Others will follow because the people are fed up with this V****V in Washington and with losers like Obama and Eric Holder and Napolitano holding offices they are not qualified for nor do they want to protect this country against an invasion.

The last thing that 'Bamacrats want is public demonstrations of Americans' concerns about border security. Overt actions generate publicity that this administration doesn't want. Look for the Justice Department to try to quash citizen patrols.
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The last thing that 'Bamacrats want is public demonstrations of Americans' concerns about border security. Overt actions generate publicity that this administration doesn't want. Look for the Justice Department to try to quash citizen patrols.

True, but try is the operative word! Americans are waking up fast now and are clamoring for border security as never seen before; and whether the government likes it or not, they will not be able to put a stop to it now - the cat's out of the bag.

Go Arizona! I hope you do this and make more headlines so that other states will want to follow your lead again!

Arizona had this , and they don't need the govt permission to do it

THE MINUTEMEN did this for years before internal squabbles ended it,

If I'm not mistaken we still have some indy orgs still doing border watches.

I don't know why they even need a bill. The State has a right to form their own militia under the constitution. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Defense_Forces

Mississippi building a fence, Arizona watchin' out for em' why they do it!
Looks like all that's left is to start huckin' em' over!

Originally Posted by stevetheroofer

Mississippi building a fence, Arizona watchin' out for em' why they do it!
Looks like all that's left is to start huckin' em' over!

bttt!