Thread: Minutemen driven by law, not racism leader says

http://www.hutchnews.com/news/regional/ ... 1006.shtml

Minutemen driven by law, not racism leader says

By Kathy Hanks

The Hutchinson News

Before Ed Hayes explains what the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps is, he wants everyone to know what it's not.


"The Minuteman is not about race, but a nation of laws," he said. "It's about enforcing laws, which our country is not doing."

He made it clear upfront that racists were not welcome: "This is not a racist organization," he told a gathering of 18 people Saturday.

Hayes, a retired law enforcement officer and Kansas director of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, led a meeting in Hutchinson to inform the public about the organization.

Hayes also hoped to find a local person to head a Hutchinson chapter.

The group aims to educate people about illegal immigration and to assist law enforcement in identifying those violating immigration laws.

The group does not target Mexicans but any person in the country illegally, Hayes said.

The group's No. 2 man, Al Garza, is Hispanic.

"Minutemen go to the border and watch," Hayes said. "It's like a big, national neighborhood watch. If they see something, they report it to the border patrol."

A membership fee in the organization is $50. The fee is for a background check, he said. If a check finds a person is a member of a racist organization, that person is rejected.

Philip Wood, with Hutchinson's Human Relations Commission, attended the meeting to listen in.

Across from him sat Grover Wilson, who came to see "what we can do about the invasion going on that people don't realize is happening."Hutchinson resident Mary Jaquez, a U.S. citizen of Hispanic descent, attended briefly.

"I just want the illegals to stay in Mexico," she said. "I understand they want to come and have a good life, but their kids grow up and start gang problems and they pick on our citizens' children in the school."

Hayes worries most Americans are too busy watching football or "American Idol," a popular TV show, to care about the problem of illegal immigrants taking advantage of this country's free society.

"We have to live our lives," Hayes said. "But we also have to protect our country."

Isn't it funny that the Minutemen have to defend themselves or even tell the public that they aren't racists? They have been around long enough where their ethic speaks for itself. If they were racist, there would have been a lot more controvery than there has been. We owe the Minutemen a big round of applause!!