<http://www.washingtontimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20050403-124321-6516r>
The Washington Times www.washingtontimes.com
Border-vigil volunteers big in spirit, not number
By Jerry Seper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published April 3, 2005
NACO, Ariz. -- Fewer than 100 "minutemen" turned out yesterday outside U.S.
Border Patrol stations here and in nearby Douglas for what organizers
touted as a "show of support" for the border agents.
Still, the volunteers for the Minuteman Project were undeterred,
waving placards and state flags and flashing thumbs-up signs to Border
Patrol agents as they left the stations to patrol the nation's southern
border for illegal aliens.
It didn't matter to the Minuteman volunteers that they were
outnumbered by Cochise County sheriff's deputies, state troopers and local
police officers.
"We're with you, and we love you," Mary Cartwright shouted to a border
agent as he drove out of the Naco station. Miss Cartwright, 25, traveled
Thursday from Anaheim, Calif., to take part in the rally.
The volunteers' placards mostly targeted President Bush and Congress
for what the Minuteman organizers have described as the government's
failure to control illegal immigration along the border with Mexico.
Several participants wore T-shirts that read "Flush Bush." Other signs
said: "Illegals Are Criminals," "Secure Our Border," "Mr. Bush: Close the
Border" and "No Benefits to Illegals."
The Minuteman volunteers spent most of Friday in Tombstone, Ariz.,
registering so that they could take up positions along a 20-mile section of
the border in Arizona beginning tomorrow -- although limited patrols were
scheduled for last night and today for those who came only for the weekend.
One of those patrols yesterday spotted a group of 18 illegal aliens
entering the United States west of the San Pedro River. Minuteman organizer
Chris Simcox said volunteers called the Border Patrol, which responded with
three trucks within 10 minutes and took the aliens into custody.
"This is absolutely fantastic," Mr. Simcox said. "This is exactly what
we had hoped we could do."
Mr. Simcox said the Border Patrol agents thanked the volunteers for
their assistance.
At yesterday's rallies, as was the case Friday in Tombstone, several
counterprotesters were in attendance. Among them were "legal observers"
hired to monitor the Minuteman volunteers, as well as others who have
accused the volunteers of being racists.
Luis Martinez, a third-generation Tombstone native, insisted that the
volunteers had come to Arizona to "cause problems, not to solve them."
He said he expected the Minuteman volunteers will attempt to detain
aliens and that, since many of the volunteers are armed, there would be
violence.
"They should not have come here," Mr. Martinez said. "This can only be
bad."
Another Minuteman organizer, James T. Gilchrist, acknowledged
yesterday that some volunteers will carry handguns. He said they have been
instructed not to provoke the aliens they observe while on patrol or seek
to detain them, but to notify the Border Patrol of their location.
Meanwhile, the Mexican government yesterday again condemned what it
called "vigilantism" along the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona, demanding the
U.S. government ensure that the Minuteman volunteers do not abuse Mexican
nationals crossing into the United States.
Mexican Consul Miguel Escobar told reporters his government "considers
it unacceptable that certain people are detaining Mexican migrants."
It was the same message delivered to U.S. government officials Feb. 10
in a diplomatic note that sought assurances that the civil rights of
illegal aliens crossing into the United States would not be violated.
Mexican consulates located throughout Arizona have been told by their
government to provide aid to those aliens who claim to have been abused by
the Minuteman volunteers, including legal options the aliens can take if
they are mistreated.
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