Minutemen step up Mexican border patrol

[Desertdog]

Minutemen step up Mexican border patrol
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/09/30/MTFH55477_2005-09-30_17-24-24_SPI062631.html


By Tim Gaynor

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (Reuters) - A U.S. militia group will launch a month-long sweep for illegal immigrants along the border with Mexico this weekend, stepping up a campaign that has raised fears of violence.

Volunteers plan to gather at seven sites between San Diego, California, and Brownsville, Texas, throughout October to scour the deserts for illegal immigrants and report them to the U.S. Border Patrol so they can be arrested.

The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps began their controversial patrols in Arizona in April and spin-off groups later held similar operations in California.

Now, for the first time, the Minutemen are taking their protest to all four U.S. states along the porous 2,000-mile (3,200-km) border with Mexico beginning on Saturday.

The Minutemen, who take their name from an American Revolution militia, are keeping the specific locations secret for fear they might attract protesters, who clashed with breakaway militia patrols in California.

"It is being very tightly controlled this time because the opposition has blatantly said that they are going to direct violence at our volunteers," Minuteman founder Chris Simcox told Reuters in a telephone interview.

"Our patrols will be held on private ranch land ... Our volunteers have been well-trained and know how to deal with protesters if they do get near us and will report them to local law enforcement," he added.

In July, protesters scuffled with breakaway California Minutemen volunteers in Campo, a border town southeast of San Diego.

Some of the Minutemen were armed. U.S. President George W. Bush has called them "vigilantes" and Mexico's government dubbed the group "migrant hunters."

The Minutemen insist they are simply filling a gap in U.S. law enforcement and drawing attention to the government's failure to secure U.S. land borders.

"We will be going home when the government sends troops or the National Guard to secure the border," Simcox said. "Until then, the patrols will continue."

While most of their attention is focused on the frontier with Mexico, which millions of immigrants cross illegally every year, they also plan vigils in areas on the Canadian border.

GROWING OPPOSITION

The growth of the Minuteman patrols has stirred stiff opposition among Latino activists and many residents in towns and cities along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The California-based Brown Berets, a Mexican-American group that was allied with the revolutionary U.S. Black Panther Party in the 1960s, has vowed to confront the Minuteman volunteers during their October vigil.

An Arizona rights group, the Border Action Network, distributed posters to stores in Naco, Douglas and Nogales on the Mexican border this week, declaring the communities "hate-free zones" and saying "racist vigilantes" are unwelcome.

In Texas earlier this year, 11 state senators urged Gov. Rick Perry to oppose the Minuteman patrols, saying they could "negatively affect tourism and trade along the border" and make law enforcement "more dangerous and difficult."

In the sweltering border city of Brownsville, a court this month passed a resolution opposing the presence of "Minutemen or other vigilante groups" along a stretch of the Rio Grande in Cameron County.

The volunteers range from retired servicemen and off-duty law enforcement officers to businessmen and office workers.

 

[GunGoBoom]

Oh that is clever - call it a 'militia' group - good choice, since that term was thoroughly demonized in the 90s, giving it a negative connotation to most people. After all, Morris Dees told us that a 'militia' group is a type of 'hate' group, right? Bastages. Thank you minutemen, for your 'service'! We need more like the minutemen.

a court this month passed a resolution

Well, since courts don't make law, that should tell you a little something about how the 'opposition' operates.

 

[rick_reno]

They had to drop the poster boy Presidents verbiage - "vigilantes" - it wasn't generating the desired response from the public. "Milita" is much better, they've used it before and it's worked out well for them. If it doesn't catch, be on the watch for yet another demonizing phrase.

March 24, 2005 Source
WACO, Texas — President Bush yesterday said he opposes a civilian project to monitor illegal aliens crossing the border, characterizing them as "vigilantes."
He said he would pressure Congress to further loosen immigration law.

 

[Standing Wolf]

U.S. President George W. Bush has called them "vigilantes" and Mexico's government dubbed the group "migrant hunters."

The original Minutemen would weep to see what's become of the nation they fought and died for.

 

[dolanp]

Oh militia militia miltia.... right. They must be BAD or something.

The California-based Brown Berets, a Mexican-American group that was allied with the revolutionary U.S. Black Panther Party in the 1960s, has vowed to confront the Minuteman volunteers during their October vigil.

An Arizona rights group, the Border Action Network, distributed posters to stores in Naco, Douglas and Nogales on the Mexican border this week, declaring the communities "hate-free zones" and saying "racist vigilantes" are unwelcome.

Ah I see the opposition, however, are "Mexican-American groups" with Black Panther afiliations (militia if I ever saw one) and "rights groups". I guess we know that the media has made up its mind.

So anyone that supports enforcement of existing border laws is hateful and racist while the good guys are 'rights groups' just trying to end bigotry... riiiiight...

 

[iapetus]

I'm not sure if that article is actually being as negative as some of you are suggesting.

The Minutemen, who take their name from an American Revolution militia

The other example it gives of a "militia" is a historical one from the Revolution, not any of the supposedly "bad" ones of more recent times.

are keeping the specific locations secret for fear they might attract protesters, who clashed with breakaway militia patrols in California.

"It is being very tightly controlled this time because the opposition has blatantly said that they are going to direct violence at our volunteers," Minuteman founder Chris Simcox told Reuters in a telephone interview.

They relay the claim that i) the opposition is threatening violence, and ii) the only response of the Minutemen will be to call the police.

"Our patrols will be held on private ranch land ... Our volunteers have been well-trained and know how to deal with protesters if they do get near us and will report them to local law enforcement," he added.

And likewise, the only response to illegal immigrants will be to call the police.

In July, protesters scuffled with breakaway California Minutemen volunteers in Campo, a border town southeast of San Diego.

Suggesting the protestors caused the trouble.

Some of the Minutemen were armed. U.S. President George W. Bush has called them "vigilantes" and Mexico's government dubbed the group "migrant hunters."

The Minutemen insist they are simply filling a gap in U.S. law enforcement and drawing attention to the government's failure to secure U.S. land borders.

Simply relaying criticism, and the Minutemen's response.

While most of their attention is focused on the frontier with Mexico, which millions of immigrants cross illegally every year,

Clearly admitting that there is a problem to be addressed.

they also plan vigils in areas on the Canadian border.

Thereby refuting the claim (that I have seen elsewhere) that "They must be racist, because they are only targeting Mexicans and not Canadians".

GROWING OPPOSITION...

Well, if people [are] opposing it, it would only be right to report it. And I don't know if linking the protestors with a revolutionary group is likely to indicate approval.

The volunteers range from retired servicemen and off-duty law enforcement officers to businessmen and office workers.

Sounds pretty respectable and ordinary, and not the steryotypical yahoos that some would make out.

 

[longeyes]

What is, is--and plenty of people know what's going on. If the media want to put themselves on the wrong side of the line, they can join the fun and games ahead. I think a lot of America is fully aware that the media have become a big part of the problem. The press has a tendency to think it is somehow "outside" a social issue. Dangerous assumption.

 

[longeyes]

the real border...

is not at the Rio Grande.

The problem lies in Washington, D.C. and--see the attached--inside a growing number of corporate boardrooms.

Is this to become a war between capitalism and citizenship?

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-matricula27sep27,1,3816176.story
Mexico's ID Makes Major Gains in U.S.
Use of the matricula consular is helping many to assimilate, which is one reason those against illegal immigration oppose the card's use.
By Jennifer Delson and Anna Gorman
Times Staff Writers

September 27, 2005

Despite opposition from groups that oppose illegal immigration, the matricula consular — an identification card issued by the Mexican government — has become increasingly common and widely used in California.

The number issued statewide has jumped from just under 190,000 five years ago to nearly 360,000 last year. Nationwide, the the number has gone from 528,000 to more than 4.7 million last year, according to the Mexican government.

Other countries, primarily in Latin America, are taking note of the matricula's success. Argentina, El Salvador and Honduras either distribute comparable cards or plan to this fall. Colombia began a pilot program in late 2004.

Resembling driver's licenses, the Mexican photo identification cards are a boon to U.S. businesses. They allow companies such as Sprint, Costco and Wells Fargo to capture the buying power of an eager and growing group of consumers: illegal immigrants.

The cards can be used to establish credit, open bank accounts, buy insurance and apply for government services.

"There was a need in the Latino community," Wells Fargo spokeswoman Mary Trigg said of her company's decision in 2001 to accept the card. "And we saw a market there."

Margarita Hernandez, an illegal immigrant who lives in Orange County, said she used the ID card to open a Wells Fargo checking account and establish a line of credit that allowed her to buy a cellphone, a 1997 Dodge Caravan, a 56-inch flat-screen television, living room and dining room sets and a $1,000 gold watch.

"It's all because I have this," said Hernandez, proudly displaying a laminated card with her photo set against the colors of the Mexican flag.

To get a card, which is good for five years, an applicant must pay $27 and produce an original birth certificate, a photo ID from Mexico (such as a voter card), and provide evidence of U.S. residency (such as a water or gas bill). The card lists the bearer's U.S. address, whether the person is here legally or not.

The matricula's growing acceptance by U.S. businesses is both a measure of how entrenched illegal immigrants are becoming in American society and of how eagerly the marketplace is courting them. It also highlights the contradiction between immigration laws, which forbid the presence of undocumented workers, and immigration reality, which encourages them to spend their paychecks here.

Activists who oppose issuing U.S. driver's licenses to illegal immigrants criticize businesses and local governments for accepting the identification cards. Nationally, protesters have targeted bank branches and Mexican consulates.

It "is a de facto amnesty," said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington think tank that favors tighter immigration controls. "It's a way of incorporating illegals into our society. It allows [the immigrant] to embed himself in our institutions."

Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, also disapproves of those who accept the card. "They are making money off of illegal activity," he said.

The FBI says the cards are vulnerable to fraud and forgery, and immigration authorities caution that they do not protect immigrants from arrest and deportation.

But businesses and government officials say the cards are a practical necessity.

Several local governments across the state — including Los Angeles, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara and Ventura counties — accept the identification cards as valid identification for county services and programs. The cards can be used for admittance to a hospital, to obtain a federal tax identification number and to borrow books from libraries.

In Ventura County, Supervisor John K. Flynn said local government offices, including the coroner's and sheriff's departments, need a way to identify residents, whether or not they are here legally.

"Realistically," he said, "they are here."

James Ballentine, outreach director for the American Bankers Assn., said banks aren't in the business of classifying customers by immigration status.

"There's a lot of mattress money out there," he said. "Banks want to tell these people they have options."

Insurance companies are also taking the card to be able to serve the growing Latino population.

"They were wage earners who had money … a great source of potential customers," said Michael Chee, spokesman for Blue Cross, which began accepting the matricula card last year.

Now South American countries are following suit.

"Our people asked for an ID that can help them in everyday life," said Carlos Valencia, Colombian vice consul in Los Angeles. "We are seeing how it works."

College of William & Mary professor George Grayson, who specializes in Mexican affairs, said President Bush is not opposing use of the cards because he does not want to alienate Latino voters and legislators.

"There has been sort of the wink and the nod," he said.

Wells Fargo Bank began accepting the card in November 2001 at the request of police in Austin, Texas, who wanted to encourage immigrants to keep their money safe, said spokeswoman Trigg. Many were storing large amounts in cash.

In 2003, Wells Fargo opened a branch in a Pacoima strip mall, becoming just the second bank in a city full of immigrants dependent on check-cashing outlets and money order stores. The bank trained a team of immigrant women whom they called comadres, which loosely translates as "sisters," to give financial education classes at potluck dinners in private homes and at local churches.

"We wanted to tell people that they could be empowered by saving the money they were spending on check-cashing," said comadre Eva Torres, 49.

"We came here illegally too. We got ahead. We want to help others."

Meanwhile, the branch manager, Steven Contreraz, 26, decided to open the bank on Sundays after noticing that the strip mall's parking lot was fullest then. He hired bilingual employees.

Now, more than 2,800 households have accounts. Some started at $100 and grew to $20,000 a few months later, Contreraz said. Ruben Beltran, Mexico's consul general in Los Angeles, and 45 Mexican consuls around the United States are trying to make it easier to get matricula cards, processing applications on Saturdays at mobile consulates in outlying areas. Those gatherings have become community events that draw nonprofit organizations and banks offering free items to those who open accounts.

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

In circulation

Since 2000, 4,735,927 matriculas -- official Mexican photo identification cards -- have been issued in the United States. Cities with the largest number of cardholders:

 

[Kjervin]

so how does this square with the Patriot Act tightening controlls on what you need for financial transactions?????
KJ

 

[longeyes]

where it is

Federal judge says illegal aliens’ privacy trumps public’s right to know
By Mark Tapscott

Oct 1, 2005

Manager of Media Programs, Center for Media and Public Policy, The Heritage Foundation


A federal District Court Judge has ruled that the privacy rights of illegal aliens convicted of heinous crimes in this country are more important than the public’s right to know if the government is properly enforcing a key immigration law.

Amazing as the ruling itself may be, what is even more stunning is the fact that U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Richard J. Leon was affirming the Bush administration’s position in the case. President Bush nominated Leon in 2001 and the Senate confirmed him in February 2002.

Leon’s Sept. 27 ruling was in response to an appeal by Cox Newspapers Washington Bureau of the Justice Department’s refusal to make public information and data about thousands of aliens convicted of serious crimes in virtually every state.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are required by federal law to escort these criminals out of the country as soon as they are released from jail, but a 2002 investigation by Cox found hundreds who were released from Georgia jails but not deported.

Despite having been convicted of crimes like murder, rape and armed robbery, the aliens who served time in Georgia jails were simply let go, free to roam the country and possibly commit more crimes.

Cox reporters Eliot Jaspin and Julia Malone knew the federal government reimburses local and state governments for much of their expenses in jailing convicted illegal aliens, so the journalists filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Justice Department, seeking names and other information about the released criminals. Justice refused, claiming release would violate the convicted aliens’ privacy rights.

Cox appealed in 2003 because Jaspin and Malone believed, based on what they found in Georgia and the amount of money spent every year by Washington reimbursing lower level governments, that there could easily be thousands of cases across the country like that of convicted pedophile Miguel Angel Gordoba, who served a four-year sentence for molesting a 2-year-old girl in Alma, Ga., then disappeared following his release.

There are also concerns that there could be sleeper-cell terrorists among those released who came here in recent years and were subsequently convicted of crimes as they awaited orders to carry out their deadly plans.

Cox argued in its appeal, according to Judge Leon, that disclosure of the information would “… help determine whether governmental agencies are effectively communicating with each other in the management of the incarceration and removal of criminal aliens," and that "the public benefit of government oversight in this instance outweighs the privacy interests …” of the convicted aliens.

Leon's response? "I disagree." He held that “these privacy interests, and the privacy intrusion associated with disclosing this information clearly outweighs the public disclosure of this information."

Leon further argued that that criminal aliens have "a substantial personal privacy interest" in their FBI case numbers and that interest also outweighs the public's interest in being able to assess the performance of government officials required by the law to meet criminal aliens when released from jail to escort them out of the country.

This decision defies logic and common sense. How can somebody who is not even a U.S. citizen have rights that outweigh the most fundamental right of every American to know if the government is enforcing the law properly? Criminal records are public documents in every state. Many states publish the names and addresses of sex offenders. But facts about murderers, rapists and thieves who aren’t citizens can’t be published?

As unbelievable as Leon’s decision is – and I pray he is reversed on appeal - it would never have been delivered if the Justice Department had not given Cox so much unnecessary difficulty on its FOIA request in the first place.

Unfortunately, this case is too typical of the experience journalists too often have in seeking official documents, data and other government records that ought to be available under the FOIA. Virtually all of the approximately 3-4 million FOIAs sent to the government every year are handled only by career bureaucrats, not by political appointees of elected officials like Bush.

So nobody should be surprised that career bureaucrats at the Justice Department aren’t eager to release documents that will embarrass career bureaucrats in the immigration agency who failed to escort those criminal aliens out of our country.

 

[R.H. Lee]

A U.S. militia group will launch a month-long sweep for illegal immigrants along the border with Mexico this weekend, stepping up a campaign that has raised fears of violence.

Violence, properly applied, can be quite productive and is nothing to fear.

 

[longeyes]

The "violence" we should fear is to our citizenship rights, our national sovereignty, our culture, our rule of law, and our tax dollars. Illegal immigration is an assault against our nation.

 

[spartacus2002]

After reading the article above about the judge's ruling, all I can surmise is that "The Fix is In." Welcome to the New Plantation.

 

[NHBB]

ahh, a foreign ID that allows you to run up credit lines in the US for such essential items like big screen TV's and thousand dollar gold watches. thats nice.

 

[Desertdog]

ahh, a foreign ID that allows you to run up credit lines in the US for such essential items like big screen TV's and thousand dollar gold watches. thats nice.

What will the Big Bankers do when those nice people run their credit to the limits and ship themselves and their furniture to Mexico when they retire?

 

[CAnnoneer]

What will the Big Bankers do when those nice people run their credit to the limits and ship themselves and their furniture to Mexico when they retire?

That's just part of the business risk for them.

But, guess what the political action committees of these banks would do if some "crazy vigilante racists" seem to get enough attention to their "unreasonable" urgings for closing the borders and extradition of illegals?

I hate to say it, but big business will be the end of this country. Corruption, short-sightedness, and excessive egoism have been destabilizing the system for way too long, and increasingly so.

 

[vol_907]

I guess we all see the gloss...

They allow companies such as Sprint, Costco and Wells Fargo to capture the buying power of an eager and growing group of consumers: illegal immigrants.

This statement bothered me the most of all. Screw legitimacy--let's get the dollars!

Profit at the expense of principles.

grr

jth

 

[longeyes]

Small business is about social relationships, community, trust, responsibility, a cohesive culture. As businesses grow they become more and more detached, and the importance of those things fades.

We have a choice: Either be a nation or worship the deal.

 

[NCP24]

What will the Big Bankers do when those nice people run their credit to the limits and ship themselves and their furniture to Mexico when they retire?

They will pass the cost on to the American people.