Border Patrol Complains About Minutemen Volunteers

But protestors don't often resort to vigilante tactics. The fact that they interfered with the border patrol only goes against their stated objective. Had they organized a different protest nobody would be complaining but the fact that their protest took the form of vigilantes is the problem.

 

He could call it a moon landing, it doesn't make it so.

 

This is pretty much dumb. If they wanted to protest, they could have done something very similar without guns.

 

in the eyes of the minutemen, they are not protesters. their actions are definately helping to point out some of the problems with border security and the bush administration's inaction in doing anything about it. all these guys are doing is what bush said he was going to do when he campaigned for relection. protect our borders.


however, they are not protesting as much as keeping lookout, so to speak. its not a protest - its a defense mechanism that is having immediate results. the mexican army is out on their side keeping people from crossing. bush sent out an extra 500 border patrol agents in the region (even though he said he was going to send 2000 when he was campaigning for reelection).

mission accomplished!

they have described themselves as a large-scale neighborhood watch program. i think all those beer-guzzling job-less fat dudes playing rambo are heros.

see my sig.

 

No acts of unwarranted violence have been reported yet so let's not go off assuming the worst. If no such tragedies occur - and border crossings along that area decrease (as is the case thus far), then perhaps they will have proven a point.

I wish they didn't have to bring their guns and Old Republic Flags though - makes for bad PR. At least there have yet been no reports of the old Confederate battle flag being sighted. The fat Texan is LOL.

 

Project organizer Chris Simcox: "This is a political protest. We are sending our public servants a message to remind them that they work for us, and we want national security." Are Americans allowed to protest only if they protest following the proper etiquette? So far, btw, their presence has been less burdensome, less chaotic, and less violent than the WTO protests. I hope we're not saying they should adopt the Seattle model.

And they don't mention it in the Chron, but their policy is to not engage border-crossers but only to call the Border Patrol and report them. They allow their guys to carry guns for self-protection (there are some unscrupulous folks in the human smuggling business).

Don't misunderstand me, I think it is a terrible idea. And, making sure that all your armed men adhere to a do-not-engage policy is probably a losing battle. Someone might get shot over the whole thing. But, the prejudices against rednecks expressed here are getting to me.

 

oxymoron?

 

Keep up the good work.

 

Come one Juan...Rednecks are the LAST group, along with WhiteTrash, that one can safely ridicule.

Seriously though, are you really concerned that rednecks are being prejudiced against?? I don't think you have ever run in those circles--I have and still do because I'm a gun collector. I grew up 10 minutes from Cut-n-Shoot Texas where the Klan still had rally's and sold Tee-Shirts on the side of the road for fund-raising. Please, don't lecture us on redneck defamation, they defame themselves at a good clip without any help from us. Sorry if I don't shed a tear from your defending their motives or your general inexperience with these types.

If I'm wrong, correct me.

However, if they are generally protesting our nations policy and inequity's regarding immigration and law enforcement, good for them. I certainly don't think the "Seattle Model" is the best way of protesting or implementing civil disobedience as a means to advance your agenda; nor do I think lawful protest should be impeded.

 

US Border Militia Probed in Immigrant's Detention
Thu Apr 7, 2005 02:48 PM ET
By Tim Gaynor

DOUGLAS, Ariz. (Reuters) - Militia volunteers patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border held a Mexican immigrant against his will and made him hold a joke T-shirt for cameras, law-enforcement officials said on Thursday.

The man filed a legal complaint charging that he was held and forced to display a T-shirt, distributed by "Minuteman" volunteer Bryan Barton, that said: "Bryan Barton caught me crossing the border and all I got was this lousy T-shirt."

It was the first complaint by an illegal immigrant against a member of the Minuteman group. Between 300 and 400 project volunteers, some of them armed, have come to Arizona to stake out a 23-mile section of the border for a month to protest what it calls ineffective U.S. border controls.

The Cochise county sheriff's department said three Minuteman volunteers picked up the 26-year-old immigrant on Wednesday afternoon.

Local television aired a video showing the Mexican man sitting on his heels as Barton posed before the camera.

Barton, a 24-year-old from San Diego who said he plans to run for political office next year, has been handing out the T-shirts to reporters since the project kicked off on April 1.

"We have no time or patience for anyone attempting to turn this situation into a three-ring circus," Cochise county Sheriff Larry Dever said.

The man's complaint was referred to a prosecutor to decide whether a crime had been committed and charges were warranted, Dever's spokeswoman said. It was not immediately known what authorities intended to do with the immigrant.

A Minuteman spokesman said the man was not mistreated.

"We have information that says exactly the opposite, that they gave the immigrant food and water and a big hug," spokesman Fred Elbel said. "The sheriff watched the video and said on the spot that it was not an incident, and he laughed all the way through."

The Minutemen say their project is a peaceful political protest, and a number of local residents have joined the patrols or turned out to support them.

Organizers say volunteers have been told not to apprehend migrants but report them to U.S. border patrol.

President Bush calls the participants vigilantes and the Mexican government has warned it will file civil suits against anyone who lays a finger on Mexican nationals during the exercise.

© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.

 

LMAO!

 

That's putting right to the point the Mr. Bush has lied again. Know the American people are speaking and taking matters in there own hands.