Thread: Border patrol policy topic of mild debate

http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2007/feb/12 ... ld-debate/
Home › News › Local
Border patrol policy topic of mild debate
By Michael Gisick (Contact)
Monday, February 12, 2007

One leads a group of communists who would rather protect the rights of child pornographers than average Americans.

The other helps lead a band of vigilante yahoos who spend their free time plotting against Mexicans, sharpening their Bowie knives and surfing white supremacist Web sites.

Those, at least, are extreme versions of the stereotypes that accompanied Peter Simonson and Bob Wright to Congregation Albert on Sunday, where the executive director of the New Mexico American Civil Liberties Union and the deputy director of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps debated a topic no less polarizing than their respective organizations: the state of the U.S.-Mexico border.

That the two men disagreed was no surprise. What did surprise many in the audience was how moderate both sounded doing it.

"I really expected to see a crazy cowboy," Anita Miller said of Wright, the Minuteman.

"They were both much more moderate than I expected," her husband, Ned Miller, said. "I think that probably had something to do with the audience, but they both made some very good points."

Wright, whose group began patrolling the border in 2005 in what he called an effort to "shame" the government, described a border region in crisis and a U.S. immigration policy that serves to undermine American culture, national security and the economy.

"We're fighting a war in Iraq to secure our country, we're searching old women in airports, and we have a president who thinks he needs to listen in on every phone conversation," Wright said. "It's an asinine proposition that we're going to do all that and not secure our southern border."

Simonson of the ACLU described the border in much different terms, saying government data show illegal border crossings holding steady or decreasing slightly over the past decade, and pointing out that the Sept. 11 terrorists were in the United States legally.

"There is no crisis occurring on our border," he said, adding that studies have shown a net positive impact on the U.S. economy from illegal immigration.

"Immigration is driven by economics, by the simple demand for labor," he said. "How we deal with the broader economic issues are the questions we should be asking."

The two did find some pieces of common ground. Simonson applauded Wright's statement that no constitutional rights should be taken away from people in the country illegally.

"I don't support taking constitutional rights away from anybody," Wright said, "because once they start taking away rights, sooner or later they'll get to yours."

But while the tone remained civil and the two men shared several vigorous handshakes, not-so-subtle disagreements were the general theme. Asked, for example, whether the ACLU's policy of observing Minuteman operations put his members at risk, Wright said he didn't think so.

"It is annoying," he said, to laughter. "It is often childish."

Simonson said members of the Minuteman project, many of whom patrol the border armed, constituted a worrisome paramilitary organization attempting to do a job, with little training, that should be left to the government. He also drew links between Minuteman splinter groups, of which there are more than a dozen, and well-documented white supremacist organizations.

"We've seen cases where the border patrol is overreaching," he said. "If we have people on the border who aren't even trained, and in many cases are hostile to the people coming across the border, we're just asking for more trouble."

Wright said his group's policy was never to have contact with people crossing the border but instead to call the Border Patrol if they saw people they suspected were crossing illegally.

The only exception, he said, is when Minutemen find people in distress.

"We've had over 600 rescues already," he said. "Our SOP (standard operating procedure) is to have no contact, but there are times when we answer to a higher SOP."

About 170 people attended the debate. Tickets cost $11 and included a brunch of eggs, green chile, bagels, lox, cream cheese and herring. Wright didn't eat, saying he gets too nervous for food before speeches.

Still, most in the audience said he certainly held his own against Simonson, whose previous Sunday debate with an FBI agent over the USA PATRIOT Act is still remembered by many who attend the monthly debates.

"I thought Wright would have a more vigilante approach," George Skadron said. "I was pleasantly surprised."

Give us a break there is nothing mild about the debate on this policy issue. the American people need to decide not politicians. this will have the greatest adverse affect on America since the Vietman war. let the american people decide and check IDs at the voting box. English only at the voting box and every other vote should be different so that non-english speaker (illegals) vote becuase someone told them where to place their mark.

ACLU Simonson quote:

"There is no crisis occurring on our border," he said, adding that studies have shown a net positive impact on the U.S. economy from illegal immigration.

WHAT?!!! What country does he live in? Even Gov. Bill Richardson said there is a crisis on the border.

My personal observations in Albuquerque & NM are that it is a more passive state regarding the Hispanic population because many older lines are historically U.S. citizens. Also the median income in the state is low so many ethnicities experience the struggle; but the area is growing exceedingly fast.

There are serious crime and drug problems in the state. The police department in ABQ is very visible and strong --- there are cops everywhere.