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Minutemen may come to the border soon

Associated Press

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Members of a citizen's border patrol say they will begin their watch of Texas' border with Mexico earlier than planned because of security holes they say were left by Border Patrol agents deployed to areas ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.

"The government has come up with a reason for the Border Patrol to be placed in Louisiana, completely obliterating and demolishing all the efforts of the Border Patrol on the borders," Al Garza, president of the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps of Texas, said in Thursday's editions of The Brownsville Herald.

Garza said about 50 volunteers would come to Brownsville this month for the operation "Secure Our Borders."

He did not say when they would come or where they would deploy. The group has said it would be watching for illegal immigrants in Texas in October.

Border Patrol officials say 200 agents from across the country have been deployed as part of the hurricane relief effort.

Customs and Border Protection spokesman Barry Morrissey told the newspaper the CBP deployment would not hurt the agency's traditional mission.

"The national Border Patrol strategy allows for disaster relief without compromising our traditional law enforcement mission at the border," he said.

Mario Villarreal, a Border Patrol spokesman in Washington, last week told The Associated Press the agents would mostly come from areas closer to the disaster, such as Florida.

But Garza said the border will be more short-handed, and the Minutemen will be "picking up the slack."