Minutemen Headed Back to Arizona

The controversial civilian Minuteman border patrol group isplanning a return to Arizona in two weeks to again confront the problem ofillegal immigration.

Some say the original Minuteman Project conducted in April 2005 in CochiseCounty and a subsequent patrol in October brought increased national attentionto the Arizona stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border.

“I think we’ve clearly been the catalyst that has sparked the nationaldebate,” said Minuteman president Chris Simcox. “That’s been ourgoal, to bring national attention to the fact that the government has failedmiserably to bring control to the southern border.”

However many Hispanic groups and advocates for immigrant rights still call theMinuteman group racist or vigilantes.

“The thing we objected to here is it brought out a lot of nativistsentiment and that’s not America at its best,” said the Rev. Robin Hoover,president of Tucson-based Humane Borders.

Simcox said his group will continue to plan monthlong patrols every six monthsuntil the federal government gains control of the border.

“If the Senate does not pass a border security bill soon, you are going tosee our numbers double probably by the end of the summer,” he said.”People are frustrated and I think this political process of coming to theborder and setting up a lawn chair and saying, `We have the will to do it,’sends a strong message to Washington, D.C.”

Simcox said he is expecting about 1,000 Minuteman Civil Defense Corpsvolunteers in Arizona for the next patrol, expected to start April 1 and lastfor one month.

He said the group counts 6,500 volunteers in 31 chapters, although the numberis unsubstantiated.

Each volunteer passes a criminal background check, interview and training,according to Simcox.

He said the group chose to patrol the Altar Valley this time because it is themost heavily trafficked corridor this fiscal year.

The group will also conduct patrols in New Mexico, Texas and California on theU.S.-Mexico border, and in Washington state, New York and Vermont on theU.S.-Canada border, Simcox added.

Border Patrol spokesman Johnny Bernal said Minuteman Civil Defense Corpsvolunteers have not broken laws or violated civil rights in their past patrols.President George W. Bush has expressed opposition to what he called border”vigilantes.”

Simcox called the claims that his group represents a threat to illegalimmigrants “outrageous” and said none of the group’s members has attackedanyone.

But Hoover said the group’s patrols are unrealistic and ineffective. He wouldlike to see them set up camp in remote areas rather than close to highways andtowns.

“We have 300 miles (480 kilometers) of border down here and they are playingaround on five miles (eight kilometers),” Hoover said.

Source: AP, Mar. 21, 2006

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