By all accounts the Minutemen have been quite successful. No thanks to the Mexican government:
WASHINGTON ? The Mexican army is escorting those attempting to cross over the U.S. border illegally ? including known drug-runners ? to areas not patrolled by the Minuteman Project near Naco, Ariz., say Border Patrol sources and other officials including a U.S. congressman.
Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., chairman of the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus, denounced the action by the Mexican military and called on President Bush to do the same.
“President Bush should publicly denounce Mexico’s latest act to curb U.S. law,” said Tancredo. “The president of Mexico is threatening to sue any member of the Minutemen who have contact with a Mexican national, threatening to take the U.S. into the International Court of Justice at the Hague over the passage of Prop 200 in Arizona, and is providing transportation to Mexican nationals trying to sneak into the U.S. One could say he is acting in the best interest of his nation. Isn’t it unfortunate we cannot say the same thing about President Bush?”
Grey Deacon, a spokesman for the Minuteman Project, reported illegal immigration is down considerably from previous months in the area patrolled by the U.S. citizen volunteers trying to bring attention to the problem of the porous border. While he claimed credit for 241 Minuteman-assisted apprehensions by the Border Patrol in the week since the project began, he pointed out the 23-mile section of the border normally sees thousands of crossing attempts a day while they have been numbered in the dozens a day since the project began.
He said the Minutemen aided today in the capture of a “coyote,” a professional human smuggler.
“But the traffic is down because the Mexican military is leading illegal aliens, including drug smugglers, away from the area of the border we are patrolling,” he said.
Border Patrol sources say the Mexican army recently moved about 1,000 troops to the Agua Prieta region, just south of where the Minutemen are. These troops, the sources say, are diverting all of the illegal alien and drug-smuggling traffic away from the Minutemen.
Yes, Bush should denounce this but he isn’t. This is the only area where I disagree with our President. I know he doesnt want to offend his Hispanic voters but after working in a area that is largely immigrant I believe most LEGAL immigrants are not in favor of illegals. Quite the contrary.
More news from the Minutemen event (hat tip A Collection Of Thoughts) :
Several hundred illegal aliens are holed up in the canyons of the Coronado National Memorial here, six miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border, unable to meet up with smugglers because of ongoing patrols by Minuteman Project volunteers. Cindy Kolb, who has lived in the area for the past six years, yesterday told The Washington Times that she saw about 300 aliens “huddled in the brush” near her home, waiting to come down the wide, brush-covered washes that cross State Highway 92 to be picked up in vans and trucks headed north. “They’re hiding in the bushes, waiting to hook up with the smugglers in the very same area that our children wait for the school bus,” said Mrs. Kolb, who waits with her daughter daily, armed with a pistol holstered on her ankle.
Cheers to Mrs. Kolb for having the guts to protect her daughter as she should, with a gun.
There is also news that the Minutemen might be spreading (hat tip Heavy Handed Politics) :
A volunteer civilian border patrol group calling themselves the Yuma Patriots conducted their first patrol on Sunday and their leader, Flash Sharrar, said he intends to conduct another patrol this coming weekend.
Federal authorities said they are concerned about the safety of these civilians and said patrols along the U.S.-Mexico border are best left to trained professionals.
Sharrar, 50, of Yuma, who organized the group, said: “We intend to have more patrols. I intend to decrease the border crossings as much as possible.”
Two weeks ago, another such volunteer group calling themselves the Minuteman Project began a monthlong initiative in the southeast portion of the Arizona border. Authorities have expressed their concerns about the potential for violence and interference with Border Patrol operations.
Sharrar said he wants the public to know his group is not affiliated with the Minuteman.
“This is for Yuma and made up of Yuma folks,” Sharrar said.
A total of 45 people have signed up thus far.
Sharrar said the Yuma Patriots aim to assist Border Patrol agents by calling them on radios or cell phones to report illegal immigrants crossing into the U.S.
Please let this spread make it to California…we need it bad.
According to the Los Angeles Daily News, the audit found that the county spends about 340 (m) million dollars a year treating undocumented immigrants at its health facilities and could save between 130 (m) million and 138 (m) million a year by discontinuing nonemergency services to them?.The audit found the county treats five times as many undocumented immigrants as required by state law.
Here is an update from a few of the Minutemen:
I was on the Naco, Arizona/Mexican border 6am – 2pm daily from Sunday to Wednesday, with two other Minutewomen and two Minutemen.
Below is the story a rancher’s wife told me, who lives on 800 acres of land, in the family since the 1880s. Their ranch begins at the Mexican border.
She and her husband have four children. They came to our Minuteman post requesting that Minutemen be stationed on their nearby property. She said she hears gunshot every night on her ranch. Has no idea exactly where it is coming from.
Since the Minutemen arrived, she claims the gunshots have stopped.
Recently, a drunken illegal alien wandered onto their ranch at night. She was home alone with her children. The illegal alien pounded on their front door. She said she and her terrified children crawled on their stomachs to the back of their house to get away from him. While retelling this event, her pretty eyes were filled with both terror and humiliation.
The family’s ranch is stampeded by illegal crossings. Years ago, they said their ranch was peaceful and safe. That it was rare to see illegal crossers.
The husband said he was recently on his property and was astounded to count over 200 illegal crossers in a group nearby. He said he called the border patrol on his cellular phone.
He was told by the woman on the phone that it was not possible to see 200 hundred crossers because they would never cross in such a large group. As he was being told this, the 200 were crossing right before his eyes!
This ranching family thanked us profusely. They said if we needed anything – food, showers, rest – we were welcome at their home. The gruff rancher husband had tears in his eyes when he said goodbye, thanking us.
Last but not least comes this from Sir George at The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler:
The undocumented border patrol officers in Arizona had best ready themselves for the arrival of yet another group of jobless migrants. But these migrants don’t need no stinkin’ jobs cause they’re from San Francisco Indybay, the Berkeley boobs who proved too dumb to stay with IndyMedia and so had to corner their own little niche of blistering stupidity.
On April 17-18, a California delegation of immigrant rights and human rights activists will be in Douglas, Arizona to respond to the presence of vigilantes on the US/M?xico border, and to their hate messages.
JOIN THE CALIFORNIA DELEGATION TO ARIZONA TO SEND THE MESSAGE: NO VIGILANTEISM ON THE US/M?XICO BORDER! IMMIGRANT RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS!
NO WAR FOR OIL! SUPPORT ORGANIC FAIR-TRADE SHADE-GROWN COFFEE! HELP PRINCE MIKE OKOYE TRANSFER FUNDS FROM THE NIGERIAN NATIONAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION!
Because when it’s in all caps it just has to be important? Especially when they spell “vigilantism” with an ‘e’ like the average Nigerian spam artist.
On April 17-18, a California delegation of immigrant rights and human rights activists will be in Douglas, Arizona to respond to the presence of vigilantes on the US/M?xico border, and to their hate messages. This group of 20-40 activists, in coordination with allies in Arizona, will counter the national media coverage and international attention that the “Minutemen” have received with our message: We will not tolerate vigilanteism against immigrant communities! Immigrant rights are human rights!
Um, illegal immigrants have the right to deportation. Berkeley activists are human, or at least hominids. DEPORT BERKELEY ACTIVISTS!
Much more at his blog. Check it out. Also check out The Immigration Blog, Right Wing News, Pointman’s Page, The Life Of A Follower, and Gindy for more.

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