http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepubli ... men31.html

Minuteman N.M. operation reports 20 migrants


Associated Press
Oct. 31, 2005 12:00 AM

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - After one month of patrolling the Bootheel region of New Mexico, the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps reported about 20 undocumented immigrants to authorities.

The Minutemen will pack up their gear and head home today. They acknowledge they didn't spot many immigrants, which they attribute to their patrols and increased Border Patrol and New Mexico State Police presence.

Minuteman member Steve Studley, 49, of Hobbs said the group succeeded in deterring immigrants from crossing.

"That's all we're trying to prove, is that a presence is what it takes to deter them," he said.

Studley said the number of volunteers fluctuated during the month from a high of about 40 to the current number of about 20. Some 200 volunteers showed up.

The Minutemen sent home one member after he was found transporting two undocumented immigrants in his vehicle.

The group's policy is to not confront crossers but report them to Border Patrol.

Peter Simonsen, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in New Mexico, said ACLU observers did not witness any violations other than the incident involving the member who transported immigrants.

Simonsen said the actions of that member demonstrate how little control the Minutemen have over the volunteers.

He complained that volunteers lacked proper skills and training.

Between five and 10 ACLU members or other volunteers were in the Bootheel area each night, Simonson said.

Michele LeBoeuf, spokeswoman for the Border Patrol's El Paso sector, said it's not possible to tell how many reports of undocumented immigrants came specifically from the Minutemen.

She said the Border Patrol didn't witness problems by either the Minutemen or the ACLU, "but we stand with our official opinion that the job of patrolling the border is best left to trained agents."

Studley said he participated in the first Minuteman patrol in April along the Arizona border.

He said the New Mexico patrol differed because immigration traffic in Arizona was more evident.

"We don't see the trash and the trails we did in Arizona," he said.

Communication posed a problem, Studley said, because cellphone service was intermittent and limited where the Minutemen could patrol.

Studley said a goal of the Minutemen is to draw the federal government's attention to the issue of illegal immigration.