Thread: Oregonians sign up for citizen border patrol

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Oregonians sign up for citizen border patrol

Defying criticism, Minuteman Project targets immigration

GABRIELA RICO
Statesman Journal

March 4, 2005

For Dana Hight, it's not personal.

The Ashland stay-at-home father understands the desperation that drives millions of people to cross the U.S.-Mexico border. He understands why a father would illegally enter the United States in search of work to provide for his family.

But next month, the 30-year-old man will join hundreds of men and women from across the country, including other Oregonians, in a civilian patrol of the U.S.-Mexico border to stop them.

"I don't hate anyone and I totally respect that there's a family man on the other side of the border who wants to provide for his family," Hight said. "The problem is that it's too easy for a terrorist to come across the border."

With a motto of "Doing the job Congress won't do," participants in the Minuteman Project will spend April in the Arizona desert, "spotting" illegal immigrants and reporting them to U.S. Border Patrol agents to highlight the need for increased border security.

Hight said his desire to participate stems from his concern that the porous, 2,000-mile border could be an avenue for people with sinister motives.

That's a sentiment shared by government officials.

Last week, James Loy, the deputy secretary of the Homeland Security Department, said recent intelligence shows that al-Qaida terrorists may try to enter the country through Mexico.

"Several al-Qaida leaders believe operatives can pay their way into the country through Mexico and also believe illegal entry is more advantageous than legal entry for operational security reasons," Loy said in written testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Minuteman Project organizer Jim Gilchrist, a retired accountant from California, said that's why he put the event together.

He said that nearly 700 volunteers already have signed up and earlier this week, he started a waiting list because interest has been so high.

Criticism that his project is driven by racists and hate-mongers is "nonsense" Gilchrist said, noting that any violence by patrol members would undermine the project's goal. He also said members of neo-Nazi or white supremacist groups seeking to join patrols will be turned away.

The Mexican government, for its part, has issued a strong warning both to organizers and the U.S. government about the pending event.

On Monday, Mexico's Foreign Minister said he is consulting a Los Angeles law firm about the Minuteman Project and plans to address the matter with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice when she visits Mexico City on March 10.

"We are going to attack by all legal means," Luis Ernesto Derbez said. "During the meeting with Secretary of State Rice, I would like to tell her about the actions that the Mexican government will undertake in defense of the rights of our fellow citizens in particular because of this concern about private-sector American groups committing actions that we see as illegal."

Meanwhile, U.S. Border Patrol agents in Arizona are concerned that private citizens could get caught in the crossfire of increased violence between agents and drug smugglers.

So far this year, the agency has reported 105 assaults on agents along the U.S.-Mexico border, said Andy Adame, spokesman for the Border Patrol's Tucson sector, which oversees most of Arizona.

"We don't support it," he said of the project. "Having untrained civilians who don't know the area out here is a recipe for disaster."

The government already has beefed up security along the border with more agents, new ground sensors and additional helicopters, Adame said.



What's next

The Minuteman Project kicks off at 4 p.m. April 1 with introductory presentations and orientation speeches at Sheflin Hall in downtown Tombstone, Ariz.

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pb ... /503040347



Oregonians sign up for citizen border patrol

Defying criticism, Minuteman Project targets immigration

GABRIELA RICO
Statesman Journal

March 4, 2005

For Dana Hight, it's not personal.

The Ashland stay-at-home father understands the desperation that drives millions of people to cross the U.S.-Mexico border. He understands why a father would illegally enter the United States in search of work to provide for his family.

But next month, the 30-year-old man will join hundreds of men and women from across the country, including other Oregonians, in a civilian patrol of the U.S.-Mexico border to stop them.

"I don't hate anyone and I totally respect that there's a family man on the other side of the border who wants to provide for his family," Hight said. "The problem is that it's too easy for a terrorist to come across the border."

With a motto of "Doing the job Congress won't do," participants in the Minuteman Project will spend April in the Arizona desert, "spotting" illegal immigrants and reporting them to U.S. Border Patrol agents to highlight the need for increased border security.

Hight said his desire to participate stems from his concern that the porous, 2,000-mile border could be an avenue for people with sinister motives.

That's a sentiment shared by government officials.

Last week, James Loy, the deputy secretary of the Homeland Security Department, said recent intelligence shows that al-Qaida terrorists may try to enter the country through Mexico.

"Several al-Qaida leaders believe operatives can pay their way into the country through Mexico and also believe illegal entry is more advantageous than legal entry for operational security reasons," Loy said in written testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Minuteman Project organizer Jim Gilchrist, a retired accountant from California, said that's why he put the event together.

He said that nearly 700 volunteers already have signed up and earlier this week, he started a waiting list because interest has been so high.

Criticism that his project is driven by racists and hate-mongers is "nonsense" Gilchrist said, noting that any violence by patrol members would undermine the project's goal. He also said members of neo-Nazi or white supremacist groups seeking to join patrols will be turned away.

The Mexican government, for its part, has issued a strong warning both to organizers and the U.S. government about the pending event.

On Monday, Mexico's Foreign Minister said he is consulting a Los Angeles law firm about the Minuteman Project and plans to address the matter with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice when she visits Mexico City on March 10.

"We are going to attack by all legal means," Luis Ernesto Derbez said. "During the meeting with Secretary of State Rice, I would like to tell her about the actions that the Mexican government will undertake in defense of the rights of our fellow citizens in particular because of this concern about private-sector American groups committing actions that we see as illegal."

Meanwhile, U.S. Border Patrol agents in Arizona are concerned that private citizens could get caught in the crossfire of increased violence between agents and drug smugglers.

So far this year, the agency has reported 105 assaults on agents along the U.S.-Mexico border, said Andy Adame, spokesman for the Border Patrol's Tucson sector, which oversees most of Arizona.

"We don't support it," he said of the project. "Having untrained civilians who don't know the area out here is a recipe for disaster."

The government already has beefed up security along the border with more agents, new ground sensors and additional helicopters, Adame said.



What's next

The Minuteman Project kicks off at 4 p.m. April 1 with introductory presentations and orientation speeches at Sheflin Hall in downtown Tombstone, Ariz.