Minuteman chief claims security success

Published: July 25, 2007 at 4:59 PM E-mail Story | Print Preview | License

WASHINGTON, July 25 (UPI) -- The head of the Minutemen movement Wednesday said the U.S. group caught more than 30 illegal aliens this weekend.

"Just this past weekend, Minuteman Civil Defense Corps volunteers in Arizona conducted their monthly border monitoring operation entitled "The Heat Goes On," where they assisted U.S. Border Patrol agents in locating 51 suspected illegal aliens. "Of these, only 19 intruders were successfully apprehended by Border Patrol agents during intense rain storms and flash flooding in the Tucson sector of Arizona," Chris Silcox, the president and founder of the MCDC, said in a statement.

"Since October 2002, MCDC border operations have led to the apprehension of over 13,522 illegal entrants by authorities and over 300 people who were rescued in the desert from dehydration, starvation or bodily injury associated with the torturous illegal journey into the United States," Silcox said.

Silcox also said his group played a major role in defeating the bipartisan immigration bill backed by President George W. Bush, which was twice rejected by the U.S. Senate.

"When the Senate attempted to ramrod its ill-considered amnesty legislation last month, Minutemen flooded Capitol Hill with office visits, phone calls and over 3 million faxes to shut it down and now encourage citizens to demonstrate their support for the congressmen advancing Border Security First, and to question any representatives who are not publicly advocating for passage of Resolution 499," he said.

Illegal immigration has split the Republican Party, especially in the Southwest where the issue of border security is most acute.
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