Minutemen plan Texas border watches: Sept. 11

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Minutemen plan Texas border watches: Sept. 11


LAREDO, Texas Hundreds of volunteers plan to keep watch over the Laredo area of the Texas-Mexico border -- beginning September eleventh.

Organizers of Operation Sovereignty say they'll offer extra sets of eyes in the Border Patrol's work to stop illegal immigration.

The private effort begins on the fifth anniversary of the deadly terrorist attacks and ends on Election Day -- November seventh.

Minuteman Project founder Jim Gilchrist declined to give specific locations where the all-volunteer civilian force will be on hand.

Texas Minutemen president Shannon McGauley says volunteers will report illegal immigrant sightings to Border Patrol -- and not approach border crossers or interfere with agents.

Chief patrol agent Reynaldo Garza says the most important communication is that agents know where the volunteers are -- and they know where the agents are.

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On the Net:

Minuteman Project: http://www.minutemanproject.com

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Posted on Mon, Aug. 21, 2006


Border volunteers planning Texas watches starting Sept. 11

ELIZABETH WHITE
Associated Press

SAN ANTONIO - Hundreds of volunteers plan to keep watch over the area of the Texas-Mexico border around Laredo beginning Sept. 11, and organizers said they'll offer extra sets of eyes in the U.S. Border Patrol's effort to stop illegal immigration.

The eight-week "Operation Sovereignty" - which begins on the fifth anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks and ends on Election Day, Nov. 7 - is meant to "bring national awareness to the illegal alien invasion crisis," said Minuteman Project founder Jim Gilchrist.

Gilchrist, who said he supports legal immigration, said the opening and closing days of the operation are significant because they are a "constant reminder right up to the day as to who not to vote for."

Private property owners in the Laredo area have been open to Minuteman patrols on their land, said Gilchrist, who declined to give specific locations because of potential retribution.

Texas Minutemen president Shannon McGauley said he anticipates anywhere from 800 to 2,000 people showing up. The American Border Patrol of Arizona, another volunteer group, also will participate, Gilchrist said.

The Minuteman Project is different from the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, led by Chris Simcox, which also patrols the border and reports illegal immigrants to authorities.

Per the group's "policy of passive activity," McGauley said the volunteers will strictly report illegal immigrant sightings to Border Patrol and will not approach border crossers or interfere with officers.

"You have to earn somebody's respect and trust," McGauley said of the Border Patrol. "Once they see we conduct ourselves as we say we do, they'll be able to say these guys are just offering an extra set of eyes."

Reynaldo Garza, acting chief patrol agent for the Laredo border sector, said Minuteman patrols have helped in immigrant arrests in the past. He added that the most important communication with the Border Patrol is that "we know where they are, and they know where we are."

"We depend on them to pass information on to us, and that's what the Minutemen will be doing," Garza said.

McGauley, who leads the Texas chapter of Gilchrist's group, said the Laredo-area operation will stretch northwest along the border to Eagle Pass. There will be a smaller operation in El Paso in October, McGauley said.