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Village of volunteers building security fence along Arizona/Mexico border
May 28, 2006 08:47 AM EDT Email to a Friend Printer Friendly Version

(AP photo)

Village of volunteers building security fence along Arizona/Mexico border

Members of the Minuteman Project are in Cochise County building a barb-wired fence along the U.S. Mexico border this weekend.

Hundreds of volunteers are erecting a fence for a private ranch which is just feet from the international line.

From afar, it appears as a village of volunteers, each with a desire to provide security.

They are men and women from Arizona, and many from out of state.

Shelsey Scavenger came in from Los Angeles, "Because I feel so strongly about this issue and I want to help clean trash along the border."

Iowa Congressman Steve King says illegal immigration effects all of America.

King says, "They haven't had the support that I think they should have had, so if some of us can come down here and help set some posts and build a fence and, more importantly, lend a voice to this effort, we have got to seal this border."

Money to build this fence is courtesy of private donations including one from Bill Johnson, who says, "Yes, I contributed $3,000 to this campaign because the American government isn't contributing and we have to, so we're volunteering."

According to the president of the Minuteman Project, this event gathers the courage of their convictions.

Chris Simcox said, "We have no confidence in the Senate or in the President when they want to reward people for breaking our laws and putting border security at the end of the line."

For many, they believe erecting their own fence will serve as a powerful image in history.

Stan Ferrell said, "When we look back in time, we'll see that the Minutemen, in times when the government needs to have a little bit more time to get its act together, the Minuteman rises to the occasion and they take the civil defense of the country into their own hands."

Border Patrol agents are in the area, as are the Minutemen, and in just a few days, the National Guard will arrive.

The question now is just what will it take to halt the flow of illegal immigration.

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