Thread: Real Life at The Border...I've got to wear a .38 to take my

SIERRA VISTA - What was supposed to have been a two-hour meeting finally ended after running over by more than 20 minutes.
Yet people were not ready to leave.

A crowd surrounded Jim Kolbe, jabbing fingers toward him. Several told him they were not one bit happy with what he has been doing.

"I've got to wear a .38 to take my son to the bus stop," Cindy Kolb said. "I am pissed," she added, although that was pretty clear.

"Tell the Mexican government they can haul the bodies out themselves," a man shouted at Kolbe.

And numerous heated side arguments were going on all around the large seminar room at Buena High School.

Welcome to a discussion about the border - Cochise County-style.

For the two decades he's been in the U.S. House, Kolbe has gone around his district twice a year, giving the people he represents a chance to speak to him about whatever is on their minds.

Last week, he was here. And he set aside the last half of a two-hour session to discuss border security issues.

Going to Sierra Vista to talk about the border is akin to going to Mesa to talk about abortion: You pretty much know what you're going to hear.

This town hall drew more than 200 people who wanted to talk about border security - or rather the lack of it.

The nexus of the meeting is the Minuteman Project, whose organizers vow to bring 500 people to the border in April to conduct civilian patrols and report illegal immigrants to the Border Patrol. Some of the people will be armed. It's an undertaking strongly opposed by Kolbe and Border Patrol officials; it is strongly supported by Kolb and others who live in the area.

The tone of the meeting was set when a man asked Kolbe for "any comments you might make, whether it's positive, negative or evasive, on the Minuteman Project."

Kolbe said Americans have the right to come to the border, but "they are putting themselves at risk. I say, 'Come, look, see and understand what is going on, but don't be involved in law enforcement.' "

Similar concerns were raised by Michael Nicley, chief patrol agent for the Border Patrol's Tucson sector - the busiest sector in the nation.

"By their own admission, they are trying to make a political statement," Nicley told Kolbe's town hall. "That's not the kind of help I want."

People wandering around in the desert will trip buried sensors, forcing the Border Patrol to send agents on fruitless hunts, Nicley said. And he expressed concern about what would happen if Border Patrol agents encounter armed Minutemen, not knowing who they are.

"You're asking people to go to a fire and help the fire department by giving them buckets," Nicley added. "Let the professionals handle the work."

Paul Newman of the Cochise County Board of Supervisors has also has commented on the issue, saying the county should require land-use permits for "this potentially volatile monthlong event."

All of which sounded reasonable to me, but I live in Tucson, more than 100 miles northwest of the no-man's land that the Cochise County border has become. It sounded much less reasonable to those who deal with the problems of illegal immigration every day.

It would be easy to dismiss their concerns if all were a bunch of testosterone-crazed yahoos. But most are people who just want to live safely on their piece of land and not be bothered.

"I'm a Minuteman not by choice but because I've had drug smugglers on my property," one exasperated man shouted at Kolbe. The man said he carries an assault rifle when he takes his children out to the swing set.

"I've been shot at, and I've shot at people and I don't want to be in that position again," the man said. "Don't sit up there, Mr. Nicley, and think we are doing this because we want to. We have to," the man said to loud and near-unanimous applause.

Later, Kolb told me what it's like living where she does, in the community of Hereford just eight miles from the border.

"This is one of the most beautiful places in the world, but it's horrible," she said. "I wouldn't leave my gate without my .38.

"You can't walk out there in these fields without running into a group of illegals - any day, any hour," she added. "Mr. Kolbe doesn't have the picture. I've seen groups of 50, and not one of them speak Spanish. Who are these people?"

In addition to the constant presence of trespassers, Kolb is deeply troubled by the mountains of trash - clothing, food containers, pornographic magazines, condoms and "every medication you can imagine."

She has a Web page - www.desertvisions.us - with pictures of the trash-scarred landscape. And she, along with dozens of other residents, takes credit for dumping bags of trash they collected at the front door of Kolbe's Sierra Vista office.

So are the Minutemen the answer?

"Yes, it's going to help - absolutely," Kolb said. "It's going to bring a lot more attention to the issue. It's going to get a lot more people screaming at Washington."

Screaming, it seems, is the only way to be heard on this issue.

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/index.php? ... 5b5_kimble

SIERRA VISTA - What was supposed to have been a two-hour meeting finally ended after running over by more than 20 minutes.
Yet people were not ready to leave.

A crowd surrounded Jim Kolbe, jabbing fingers toward him. Several told him they were not one bit happy with what he has been doing.

"I've got to wear a .38 to take my son to the bus stop," Cindy Kolb said. "I am pissed," she added, although that was pretty clear.

"Tell the Mexican government they can haul the bodies out themselves," a man shouted at Kolbe.

And numerous heated side arguments were going on all around the large seminar room at Buena High School.

Welcome to a discussion about the border - Cochise County-style.

For the two decades he's been in the U.S. House, Kolbe has gone around his district twice a year, giving the people he represents a chance to speak to him about whatever is on their minds.

Last week, he was here. And he set aside the last half of a two-hour session to discuss border security issues.

Going to Sierra Vista to talk about the border is akin to going to Mesa to talk about abortion: You pretty much know what you're going to hear.

This town hall drew more than 200 people who wanted to talk about border security - or rather the lack of it.

The nexus of the meeting is the Minuteman Project, whose organizers vow to bring 500 people to the border in April to conduct civilian patrols and report illegal immigrants to the Border Patrol. Some of the people will be armed. It's an undertaking strongly opposed by Kolbe and Border Patrol officials; it is strongly supported by Kolb and others who live in the area.

The tone of the meeting was set when a man asked Kolbe for "any comments you might make, whether it's positive, negative or evasive, on the Minuteman Project."

Kolbe said Americans have the right to come to the border, but "they are putting themselves at risk. I say, 'Come, look, see and understand what is going on, but don't be involved in law enforcement.' "

Similar concerns were raised by Michael Nicley, chief patrol agent for the Border Patrol's Tucson sector - the busiest sector in the nation.

"By their own admission, they are trying to make a political statement," Nicley told Kolbe's town hall. "That's not the kind of help I want."

People wandering around in the desert will trip buried sensors, forcing the Border Patrol to send agents on fruitless hunts, Nicley said. And he expressed concern about what would happen if Border Patrol agents encounter armed Minutemen, not knowing who they are.

"You're asking people to go to a fire and help the fire department by giving them buckets," Nicley added. "Let the professionals handle the work."

Paul Newman of the Cochise County Board of Supervisors has also has commented on the issue, saying the county should require land-use permits for "this potentially volatile monthlong event."

All of which sounded reasonable to me, but I live in Tucson, more than 100 miles northwest of the no-man's land that the Cochise County border has become. It sounded much less reasonable to those who deal with the problems of illegal immigration every day.

It would be easy to dismiss their concerns if all were a bunch of testosterone-crazed yahoos. But most are people who just want to live safely on their piece of land and not be bothered.

"I'm a Minuteman not by choice but because I've had drug smugglers on my property," one exasperated man shouted at Kolbe. The man said he carries an assault rifle when he takes his children out to the swing set.

"I've been shot at, and I've shot at people and I don't want to be in that position again," the man said. "Don't sit up there, Mr. Nicley, and think we are doing this because we want to. We have to," the man said to loud and near-unanimous applause.

Later, Kolb told me what it's like living where she does, in the community of Hereford just eight miles from the border.

"This is one of the most beautiful places in the world, but it's horrible," she said. "I wouldn't leave my gate without my .38.

"You can't walk out there in these fields without running into a group of illegals - any day, any hour," she added. "Mr. Kolbe doesn't have the picture. I've seen groups of 50, and not one of them speak Spanish. Who are these people?"

In addition to the constant presence of trespassers, Kolb is deeply troubled by the mountains of trash - clothing, food containers, pornographic magazines, condoms and "every medication you can imagine."

She has a Web page - www.desertvisions.us - with pictures of the trash-scarred landscape. And she, along with dozens of other residents, takes credit for dumping bags of trash they collected at the front door of Kolbe's Sierra Vista office.

So are the Minutemen the answer?

"Yes, it's going to help - absolutely," Kolb said. "It's going to bring a lot more attention to the issue. It's going to get a lot more people screaming at Washington."

Screaming, it seems, is the only way to be heard on this issue.

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/index.php? ... 5b5_kimble

RedGirl1,
this looks like a good one to put up.

RedGirl1,
this looks like a good one to put up.

All I can say is that our "politicians" are deaf, dumb, and blind if they can't see what illegal immigration is doing to this country. First it was the border states and no one (except those who live there cared), and now it is almost nationwide.

It's really time for us to get rid of the deadwood that won't/can't protect and serve the legal American citizen. No one should have to carry a gun in order to protect their children while they are out playing.

I've been writing, calling, faxing for years about this problem, but nothing changes. I've got stacks of really nice email and letters, but there is no substance in them at all...same BS (just said differently). Both parties are guilty of pandering to illegals, big business, and special interests.

All I can say is that our "politicians" are deaf, dumb, and blind if they can't see what illegal immigration is doing to this country. First it was the border states and no one (except those who live there cared), and now it is almost nationwide.

It's really time for us to get rid of the deadwood that won't/can't protect and serve the legal American citizen. No one should have to carry a gun in order to protect their children while they are out playing.

I've been writing, calling, faxing for years about this problem, but nothing changes. I've got stacks of really nice email and letters, but there is no substance in them at all...same BS (just said differently). Both parties are guilty of pandering to illegals, big business, and special interests.

i think, they think, if they ignor the problem it will go away...... NEVER GIVE UP THE FIGHT FOR WHAT IS RIGHT.....regardless of how corrupt our politicians are.......

i think, they think, if they ignor the problem it will go away...... NEVER GIVE UP THE FIGHT FOR WHAT IS RIGHT.....regardless of how corrupt our politicians are.......

I've seen groups of 50, and not one of them speak Spanish. Who are these people?"


Good Question

I've seen groups of 50, and not one of them speak Spanish. Who are these people?"


Good Question