- More than 15,000 volunteers will man observation posts
and conduct foot and horseback patrols this fall along the Mexican border
from Texas to California and in seven states along the Canadian border
in a new Minuteman vigil to protest what organizers call the government's
lax immigration enforcement policies.
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- Chris Simcox, who heads the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps,
said volunteers from throughout the country who are "concerned that
the U.S. government must be made to act and take control of our borders"
are signing up in record numbers for the new monthlong patrols set to begin
Oct. 1.
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- "We want a secure U.S. border and an end to the
blatant disregard of the rule of law regarding illegal immigration,"
Mr. Simcox said. "Nearly four years after the September 11 attacks
on America, we should be doing a better job of securing our borders.
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- "Our government is more concerned with securing
the borders of foreign lands than securing the borders of the United States,"
he said.
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- Mr. Simcox, publisher of a Tombstone, Ariz., newspaper
and founder of the Civil Homeland Defense Corps in Arizona, coordinated
the "Minuteman Project" border vigil in that state in April that
for a 30-day period shut down a 23-mile stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border
to illegal immigration.
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- He said the new volunteers will be deployed in California,
Arizona, New Mexico and Texas and that other Minuteman groups will patrol
the border regions of Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota,
Vermont and Washington. They will observe and report to the U.S. Border
Patrol, but not detain, those attempting to illegally cross into the United
States, he said.
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- In Arizona, more than 850 volunteers stood watch near
Naco to reduce the flow of illegal aliens in one of the nation's most-traveled
immigration corridors. Their goal was to show that increased manpower on
the border would effectively deter illegal immigration.
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- During the 30-day vigil, the number of apprehensions
by Border Patrol agents in the targeted area dropped from more than 500
a day to fewer than 15.
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- "We've written letters, sent faxes and e-mails,
made countless calls and held town hall meetings about what is not just
a public safety issue but a national security concern," Mr. Simcox
said, describing his group's message to the government. "But we're
done waiting for you to do the job of securing our borders.
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- "While you're making up your mind about what to
do, we're going to continue our Minuteman vigils," he said. "We
intend to defend our property and our country."
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- Although Border Patrol supervisors in Arizona discounted
the Minuteman efforts, saying apprehension totals declined because the
Mexican government deployed military and police south of the targeted area,
field agents credited the volunteers with cutting the flow of illegal aliens.
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- Residents thanked the Minutemen in a full-page newspaper
ad "for doing what our government won't -- close the border to illegal
aliens."
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- The National Border Patrol Council, Local 2544 in Tucson,
Ariz., endorsed the Minuteman Project, saying its members -- about 2,000
field agents -- did not have "one single complaint from a rank-and-file
agent in this sector about the Minutemen."
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- "Every report we've received indicates these people
are very supportive of the rank-and-file agents; they're courteous. Many
of them are retired firefighters, cops and other professionals, and they're
not causing us any problems whatsoever," the council said.
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- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger also praised the
Minuteman Project, saying the group did "a terrific job."
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- Mr. Simcox said, "Ordinary citizens sitting in lawn
chairs stopped a flood of illegal aliens" during the Arizona vigil,
adding, "If the country's elected leaders will not defend our nation's
borders, American citizens will."
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- Since its Arizona beginnings, the Minuteman organization
has mounted what it calls a national campaign and has hired lawyers, organized
into separate corporations, hired a District-based public relations firm
and began a vigorous fundraising effort. The organization's leadership
also has lobbied members of Congress for immigration reform.
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- http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20050715-121253-3251r.htm
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