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Monday, February 20, 2006

Sheriff says Minutemen not needed

Louie Gilot
El Paso Times
Monday, February 20, 2006

It was an awkward relationship from the get-go -- a group of untrained volunteers who wanted to patrol the border and a sheriff who wanted to draw national attention to the border.

Now it appears the marriage of convenience between El Paso County Sheriff Leo Samaniego and the Minutemen is over.

"They served their purpose by attracting attention," Samaniego said last week. "They made their point. Now that we have (Operation) Linebacker, I don't think we need them."

Operation Linebacker is the campaign by the Texas Border Sheriff's Coalition to add deputies along the border to act as a second line of defense behind Border Patrol on the front lines. The sheriffs have already obtained state funding for the extra patrols and hope to get $100 million in federal money this year.

A group of El Pasoans who joined the Minutemen were upset at Samaniego's comments.

Ken Muise joined the Texas Minutemen last fall and now patrols the area around Fabens once a week with 12 to 16 other El Pasoans who recently formed the splinter group, Texas Border Regulators.

"As far as I'm concerned, we have not seen a real difference (since the kickoff of Operation Linebacker). (Operation) Linebacker is a great idea, but until we get more border closure, we are not going to cease," he said. "He (Samaniego) told us in the past how much he appreciates our help."

Before volunteer patrolers started a monthlong borderwide operation in October, Samaniego had praised their efforts, albeit as a "last resort." Minutemen volunteers credited the sheriff's welcoming attitude as the main reason they chose to come to El Paso.

"I can never say anything bad about him," said Shannon McGauley, president of the Dallas-area Texas Minutemen.

Louie Gilot may be reached at lgilot@elpasotimes.com; 546-6131.