Thread: Minute Men for Immigration Control Make Us Proud

http://www.washingtondispatch.com/article_10781.shtml

Write to the author using the form at the bottom of the above link. I did!

Minute Men for Immigration Control Make Us Proud
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Commentary by Donald A. Collins
April 5, 2005

Hey, what do you know!? Those nasty Minute Men, described by President Bush as “vigilantes�, have done what all us pundits haven’t done to date and maybe could never have done, namely made the Federal Government do something about border security.

This disgusting situation, where our borders are completely overrun with illegal aliens, has been well publicized for years, but especially highlighted in a September 20, 2004 Time Magazine cover story and with relentless and effective nightly commentary by Lou Dobbs on his CNN Nightly News program. Many are outraged, but action to fix the problem has been deadly slow.

Then, earlier this month, some 1000 men joined a so-called Minute Men Project calling themselves civilian border watchers, determined to stop the immigration flow that routinely, and easily, seeps past federal authorities, simply by reporting sightings to the Border Patrol. They plan to patrol a 40-mile stretch of the southeast Arizona border throughout April when the tide of immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border peaks.

"I felt the only way to get something done was to do it yourself," said Jim Gilchrist, a retired accountant and decorated Vietnam War veteran who is helping recruit Minutemen across the country.

These guys are going to places along this 370 mile border where US border patrol agents have been attacked and killed. Yet, the image of citizens trying to defend their own country because our government, Federal, State and local, have largely failed to do so, makes compelling news.

Mexico’s President threatened to sue the group in the World Court, which gave impetus to much broader media exposure. Imagine the President of a foreign country complaining about citizens of another country trying to defend their own territory. Lou Dobbs of CNN has been regularly mentioning these brave citizens. American citizens clearly understand that this is not about the failure of the thinly spread US Border Patrol, but a failure of our government to make adequate laws and take appropriate actions that would quickly lessen this massive flow.

For starters, the Bush Administration has refused to fund the hiring of enough border patrol officers leaving much of the huge border between Mexico and the US where thousands of illegal aliens cross into the US every day. Congress recommended funding for 2000 more border patrols, but Bush cut the number drastically.

Human action, in a peaceful but physical presence, has powerful effect, making our governments, both State, local and Federal look really unresponsively mongoloid in the face of illegal alien entries which are now reported at 3-4,000 per day across the Arizona border alone.

Suddenly, as Dobbs reported on March 29th, “Sources within the Department of Homeland Security say the number of border patrol agents here in Arizona will be boosted by about 500. About 150 of those agents will be coming in from elsewhere in the country. About 350 will be new hires, people who are being put in existing vacancies within the border patrol. This will boost the total number of border patrol agents here in Arizona to about 3,000. Officials announced the first phase of the Arizona border patrol initiative a year ago, and they say it is purely coincidental that they are announcing this second phase just days before the Minutemen begin an action (on April 1st) along the border.�

This small, but obvious re-action by our government is pitiful compared to the need, but with citizen anger burgeoning to citizen direct action, they better a get a move on!

In Virginia, the Washington Post’s March 26th story reported, “As a dozen Latino men walked into Prince William County court in January to face charges of loitering at a 7-Eleven, Jim McDonald stood outside holding a sign that read, "ACLU and Illegals Please Go Home." It's a regular role for McDonald, 59, who pickets frequently outside courthouses or anywhere else he thinks he should spread his message. He has plenty of poster board, and he's happy to travel. McDonald, whose placard targeted a group of Latino day laborers arrested as they waited for potential employers in Woodbridge, does not work alone. He is part of a group calling itself the Virginia Coalition Against Terrorism. An assortment of mostly local residents -- some of them immigrants themselves -- the coalition has dedicated itself to fighting new arrivals who have come to the United States illegally, as some in the Woodbridge roundup had.�

So, as Dobbs again reported on March 29th, just 3 days later, (Dobbs seems to be the only major evening news hour reporter with the guts and the vision to tell the truth on how the cheap labor crowd is buying our governments’ inaction): “ Today, Governor Mark Warner signed a bill that would deny public benefits to illegal aliens. Virginia now joins Arizona as the only two states in this country to introduce such legislation.

And now we learn from Brock N. Meeks, Chief Washington correspondent at MSNBC that “The U.S. government is poised to launch a multi-million dollar security initiative along a 260-mile stretch of the Arizona-Mexico border this week in an effort to shut down the main artery for illegal immigration into the United States. The operation, run by the Customs and Border Protection unit of the Department of Homeland Security, will increase the number of agents in the region by 40 percent, and it is designed to thwart both illegal immigration as well as the potential for terrorist infiltration along the border area referred to as the Tucson sector.�

Officials say “the goal is to ‘establish and maintain operational control’ of the border, according to planning documents for "Operation Full Court Press," the initiative's code name. The operation will redeploy Black Hawk helicopters and significant numbers of air and ground resources from around the country�.

Gee, that’s nice. Where have you been? Polls have shown for years that over 80% of all Americans want less immigration. Certainly 100% of us want to be protected from terrorists, some of whom have undoubtedly already come across in the huge, unchecked flow.

The REAL ID act, now before the Senate, having passed the House 261 to 161, would block states from issuing standard drivers' licenses to illegal immigrants and make it easier for judges to expel asylum seekers. Representative F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., Republican of Wisconsin and sponsor of the bill, said that the measures were necessary to fulfill recommendations of the commission that investigated the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Dobbs did an interview on March 29th with Congressman Sensenbrenner who was standing on the Mexican border. The Congressman had earlier noted that several of the men involved in those 9/11 attacks were illegal immigrants who had American drivers' licenses, which they used as identification when boarding planes.

Some organizations that falsely claim themselves as supporting immigration limitation are asking the public to urge the Senate to dilute the provisions of the recently passed REAL ID Act, H.R.418. Unfortunately, there are many Senators who just don’t want a bill that provides for linkage of state motor vehicle databases among the states, thus creating a national ID card.

In short, Folks, the “do nothings� want to do nothing again. When the next terrorist attack comes, those who did nothing all should be voted out of office by their constituents and I bet they will be. Most of us are not as brave or willing as Gilchrist, MacDonald or others who put their bodies at risk to say to these elected elite evaders of reality, do something now about border security and immigration reform. But when these citizens do act, as in the above cases, the effect on our cheap labor paid for representatives is delightful to observe. Now, without delay, let’s pass the REAL ID act, Senators. The terrorists’ time bombs are ticking.

Collins, a DC free lance writer, often writes for the Dispatch on policy issues.

Excellent piece. This guy has a clue.

Mexico’s President threatened to sue the group in the World Court, which gave impetus to much broader media exposure. Imagine the President of a foreign country complaining about citizens of another country trying to defend their own territory.

Mr. Fox's mouth is substantially larger than his brain.

Human action, in a peaceful but physical presence, has powerful effect, making our governments, both State, local and Federal look really unresponsively mongoloid

I am surprised that they look that good.

Suddenly, as Dobbs reported on March 29th, Sources within the Department of Homeland Security say the number of border patrol agents here in Arizona will be boosted by about 500.

A few Marines would be nice. Why don't we get ol Foxie really, really mad?

Some organizations that falsely claim themselves as supporting immigration limitation are asking the public to urge the Senate to dilute the provisions of the recently passed REAL ID Act, H.R.418.

Many of them are sheep in wolf's clothing.

Now, without delay, let’s pass the REAL ID act, Senators. The terrorists’ time bombs are ticking.

They sure are. Senators fiddle while the border burns.

Excellent piece. This guy has a clue.

I agree ... I dropped him a short note from the form on the link and told him his views were so positive on Minutemen that his piece had been posted on ALIPAC.

And, of course, as always , I agree with your commentary on the commentary.