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'Minuteman project' picks up Bush's slack
By Tommy Gorman, Staff Writer
Published: Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Article Tools: Page 1 of 1

President Bush has stabbed conservative voters in the back. As we all know, national security was a huge issue during the 2004 presidential election. It was such a serious issue that John Kerry declared he could protect America better than the current administration.

However, millions of people have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border illegally, and Bush continues to ignore it. According to the U.S. government Office of Immigration statistics report, more than 3 million immigrants illegally entered the country during the 1990s.

In response to this problem, a group of concerned citizens organized the "Minuteman Project." These volunteers went to Arizona and patrolled a 23-mile stretch along the U.S.-Mexico border known as the Naco-Douglas Corridor. The Minuteman Web site, ME, states there were a total of 857 volunteers who worked in shifts and reported illegal crossings to the U.S. Border Patrol.

After a month of surveillance, their efforts lead to 335 captures. This equates to a 98 percent drop in illegal immigration for that area, compared to the April 2004 figures.

Despite the success of the project, they have received no support from Bush. During a meeting with Mexican President Vicente Fox, a reporter asked Bush what he thought about the Minutemen patrolling the border. Bush answered, "I'm against vigilantes in the United States of America. I'm for enforcing the law in a rational way," according to The Washington Times.

Unfortunately, Bush's current approach to securing the border is not at all rational. This response only clarified that he does not have a clue as to what the concerns of Arizona citizens are.

In the November election, Arizona voters passed Proposition 200, which denies benefits and free health care to illegal immigrants. If this doesn't convince Bush Arizonians are unhappy with the immigrant problem, nothing will.

With Bush's vigilante statement, he lost all credibility among those who supported his fight for national security. In the days following Sept. 11, he vowed to protect America from further attacks. One would think this effort would involve securing all borders since the 19 hijackers were in the United States illegally.

Ironically, Bush was accurate when labeling the Minutemen as vigilantes; as it is defined, they did take the law into their own hands in a watchful manner. What Bush failed to mention is that the Minutemen were forced to become vigilantes because the government is not patrolling borders as it should.

Bush is against these vigilantes because they are completing a task he is too negligent to do himself. The Minutemen's ability to shut down a 23-mile stretch of border proves illegal immigration can be stopped if patrols are set up. Now that the month-long demonstration is over, there are still volunteers monitoring the border, but they're now being lead by the Civil Homeland Defense, according to minuteman.

Bush has yet to say anything about the Minutemen and their success. If the border can be secured by civilians with flashlights and cell phones, there's no reason it can't be secured by the U.S. National Guard. Why does Bush act like illegal immigration is no big deal?

Answer: Bush acts as if illegal immigration isn't a burden because he believes every person who attempts to enter this country is looking for work. This explains his promotion of amnesty to illegal immigrants already in the United States.

Furthermore, The Washington Times documents Fox's approval of open borders between his country and the United States. This explains his firm support of Bush's proposed "guest worker program."

On the contrary, if every undocumented immigrant were solely seeking work, America's national security wouldn't be in jeopardy.

Realistically, the nation's security is at a serious risk. If a person looking for work can cross the border, then a terrorist looking for destruction could easily cross as well. As long as America's borders remain ignored, we move closer to another attack. The "pilots" who trained at flight schools in America in order to fly jets into the World Trade Center have made this obvious.

-Tommy Gorman is a journalism senior and a staff writer for The Daily Aztec.