Minuteman Project A Success By La Shawn Barber

by John Hawkins | April 12, 2005 10:34 am

On April 1, hundreds of American descended on the Arizona-Mexico border to highlight the vast national security problem at the southern border.

Their president, in conjunction with the liberal media, called them vigilantes. The “patriots” of the American Civil Liberties Union, which purports to protect the rights of Americans, are “monitoring” their countrymen to make sure the illegal border crossers are treated “in a humane way.”[1]

The Minuteman Project[2], founded by Jim Gilchrist, a former military man, is accomplishing the goal of raising awareness of just how extensive the illegal immigration scourge really is. Some government bureaucrat must have noticed. Several days before the start of the border watch, U.S. officials decided to send 500 border agents[3] down to Arizona. Many speculated that George Bush was embarrassed that civilians volunteered to do the job he’s paid to do but so far hasn’t done.

It looks like several states are beginning to crack down on illegal immigration. For instance, Mark Warner, a Democrat and governor of Virginia, signed legislation denying welfare to illegal aliens[4]. (See Immigration and Welfare[5]) In California, the police chief of the Los Angeles Police Department is proposing changes to the ridiculous Special Order 40, which prevents cops, charged with the enforcement of the law, from asking criminals about their citizenship status. Politically correct crime non-fighting. (Source[6] – reg. req.) A related story appears in the New York Times[7] (reg. req).

The most infuriating aspect of our lax immigration policy is that while Americans are losing their lives in Iraq fighting the so-called War on Terrorism, illegal aliens, along with Middle Eastern men, cross the southern border as if it’s a stroll in the park. While our president, in the age of terrorism, is considering amnesty for aliens, family members wave goodbye to their loved ones, not knowing if they’ll ever see them alive again, as they leave these shores to fight in a foreign country. (See Suicide Nation[8])

I think Bush should reassign some of these soldiers to defend us against enemies from the south.

My frustration is somewhat abated when I realize how much attention the Minuteman Project has already brought to this issue. The media coverage[9], however negative, is still valuable, and the Project has inspired others to start similar groups. (Source[10]) Arizona Border Watch[11] will pick up where the Minuteman Project leaves off.

At least for the month of April, illegal border crossings are down. (See here[12] and here[13]). Barely a week into the border watch, the volunteers caught over 100 illegal aliens. (Source) In a related development, Los Angeles County may finally do something about the closure of its clinics because of the strain caused by treating uninsured non-citizens:

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. (Source[14])

Despite the shifting sentiment, pro-enforcement Americans still face violations of their freedom of speech and association[15]. And a few bad apples involved with the Project have been dismissed, as Jim Gilchrist said they would be.

For the latest developments, check immigration on Yahoo![16] and Michelle Malkin’s immigration blog[17].

This content was used with the permission of La Shawn Barber’s Corner[18].

Endnotes:
  1. “in a humane way.”: http://www.aclu.org/ImmigrantsRights/ImmigrantsRights.cfm?ID=17864&c=22
  2. The Minuteman Project: http://www.minutemanproject.com/index.html
  3. 500 border agents: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0330borderagents30.html
  4. denying welfare to illegal aliens: http://www.washtimes.com/metro/20050330-125648-7106r.htm
  5. Immigration and Welfare: http://www.fairus.org/ImmigrationIssueCenters/ImmigrationIssueCenters.cfm?ID=1250&c=17
  6. Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lapd7apr07,1,4628829.story
  7. New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/07/national/07crime.html?oref=login
  8. Suicide Nation: http://lashawnbarber.com/archives/2005/03/23/suicide/
  9. media coverage: http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-minuteman5apr05,1,60184.story?coll=la-headlines-frontpage&ctrack=1&cset=true
  10. Source: http://sun.yumasun.com/artman/publish/articles/story_15889.php
  11. Arizona Border Watch: http://www.azborderwatch.us/
  12. here: http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/border/68940.php
  13. here: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-border4apr04.story
  14. Source: http://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=3147407
  15. speech and association: http://newstranscript.gmnews.com/news/2005/0405/Front_Page/141.html
  16. Yahoo!: http://story.news.yahoo.com/fc?cid=34&tmpl=fc&in=US&cat=Immigration
  17. immigration blog: http://michellemalkin.com/immigration/
  18. La Shawn Barber’s Corner: http://lashawnbarber.com

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