'Minuteman' Volunteers Protest U.S. Policy

'Minuteman' Volunteers Protest U.S. Policy

By JACQUES BILLEAUD
.c The Associated Press

DOUGLAS, Ariz. (AP) - Volunteers for an effort to patrol the Mexican border for illegal immigrants and smugglers marched in southern Arizona on Saturday to draw attention to what they say is the government's failure to control illegal immigration.

About 150 people, including volunteers for the Minuteman Project and their supporters, chanted ``Hey, hey, ho, ho, illegal aliens got to go'' and sang ``God Bless America'' as they filed past the Border Patrol station in this community. Some of the group had attended a similar rally earlier in the day in nearby Naco.

``I just feel like the president and the Congress have let us down on national security since 9-11,'' said Tim Donnelly of Twin Peaks, Calif., who will join other volunteers when they begin patrolling the border Monday. ``We have open borders, and the director of the FBI has said al-Qaida wants to sneak in.''

Jim Gilchrist, a retired accountant from California who organized the project, said the people at the protest represented only a portion of 450 participants on hand for the patrols. He said many were conducting reconnaissance Saturday.

There was no way to verify the count independently Saturday. Human rights activists and some authorities have questioned whether the patrols will draw the hundreds that organizers expect.

The idea, according to organizers of the Minuteman Project, is for volunteers to fan out across 23 miles of the San Pedro Valley to watch the border and report any illegal activity to federal agents, an exercise some law enforcement officials fear could lead to vigilante violence.

The Arizona-Mexico border is considered the most vulnerable stretch of the 2,000-mile southern border. Of the 1.1 million illegal immigrants caught by the Border Patrol last year, 51 percent crossed into the country at the Arizona border.

Many of the Minuteman volunteers were recruited over the Internet and some plan to be armed.

On the Net:

Minuteman Project: http://www.minutemanproject.com

U.S. Customs and Border Protection: http://www.cbp.gov

04/02/05 23:21 EST

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"If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest for freedom, go home and leave us in peace. We seek not your council nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen." --Samuel Adams

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http://www.tombstonetumbleweed.com/Borderline/borderline.html