State Senators Want Minuteman Project Banned
LAST UPDATE: 5/25/2005 5:47:19 AM
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AUSTIN (AP) - Some state leaders have a message for the Minuteman Project - wait just a minute.

Eleven Texas senators have filed a resolution objecting to Minuteman Project plans to patrol the Texas-Mexico border in October.

They say the civilian patrols would hurt tourism, trade and the economy, and they're asking for Gov. Rick Perry's help.

The Minuteman Project is a group of civilian volunteers, some armed, who patrolled the Arizona-Mexico border in April. Organizers say the patrols respond to the federal government's failure to secure the border against illegal immigrants, smugglers and potential terrorists.

"I have faith in our law enforcement agencies to do their job," said state Sen. Juan Hinojosa, D-McAllen, one author of the resolution. "The last thing they need is interference from untrained individuals who could ultimately pose serious danger to citizens and immigrants along the border region."

Minuteman Project members could not be reached for comment Monday night.

Perry has said he does not approve of Minuteman tactics, but told the senators they should handle the problem with policy.

"The federal government can and must do more to close the border to illegal immigration," Perry wrote in a letter to the senators. "Until that happens, these kinds of citizen-initiated efforts likely will be the result. If you want to send the Minutemen home, I urge you to make sure we have enough federal agents on the border to secure it."

Information from: The Brownsville Herald, http://www.brownsvilleherald.com

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