Saturday, April 30, 2005
Minuteman Project - Snowballing from Arizona !
April is over and so is the Minuteman Project (MMP) of citizen volunteer monitors along the southeast Arizona border. So how well have they done this past month? Well, for starters, this large turnout of volunteers didn't shoot anyone or violate any human rights, despite the hand-wringing and woeful predictions of the ACLU and other fearful types.
Their presence did result in a major reduction in illegal border crossings in their area; and their observations and alerts to the Border Patrol led to a number of arrests. More importantly, they showed the value of citizen action and got a lot of national attention on the problem of illegal immigration across our borders and the relatively weak government border controls. And their impact may be getting bigger.
As an example, this LATimes article Gov. Praises 'Minuteman' Campaign notes :
" Schwarzenegger said in a radio interview that the federal government is failing to secure the border with Mexico, and he cast the hundreds of private citizens who have been patrolling the Arizona-Mexico border since April 1 as a popular response to government inaction.
I think they've done a terrific job," Schwarzenegger said of the "Minuteman" volunteers, who plan to expand to California in June. "They've cut down the crossing of illegal immigrants a huge percentage. So it just shows that it works when you go and make an effort and when you work hard. It's a doable thing."
The governor added that, "It's just that our federal government is not doing their job. It's a shame that the private citizen has to go in there and start patrolling our borders." "
And in Michelle Malkin's Washington Times Commentary today :
" This week, following the successful Minuteman Project of citizen border patrols, hundreds of citizen lobbyists descended on Capitol Hill to send the same message. They are led by some of the nation's most influential conservative radio talk shows in every major market -- including organizer Roger Hedgecock from San Diego, Melanie Morgan from San Francisco, "The John and Ken Show" based in Los Angeles, Lars Larson in Portland, and Michael Smerconish in Philadelphia. On their agenda: fixing the nation's broken deportation and detention system; ending policies that give illegal aliens sanctuary; strengthening interior enforcement; and shutting off illegal alien magnets, including health, education and Social Security benefits. "
She also cites considerable interest by Democrat legislators to fix the illegal immigration problem. Perhaps there is hope for more serious government action, perhaps along the lines of stricter border controls combined with some form of legal temporary worker progam. That might be popular combination as indicated by this AP article Voters favor Minutemen, guest workers , that claims :
"In all, 57 percent of those interviewed said they supported the Minuteman Project, while 34 percent were opposed and 9 percent did not know or gave no opinion. Bush's guest worker program drew 62 percent backing, with 29 percent opposed and 9 percent saying they did not know or expressing no opinion."
Chris Simcox, a key organaizer of the MMP, has plans for a next step possibly by this Fall. In a recent interview, he said there are about 15,000 volunteers who have committed to patrolling the border in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. The group is also incorporating, assembling a staff and opening a national fundraising campaign. Sounds like a success story that may be snowballing across the nation - from the Arizona desert no less!
Their presence did result in a major reduction in illegal border crossings in their area; and their observations and alerts to the Border Patrol led to a number of arrests. More importantly, they showed the value of citizen action and got a lot of national attention on the problem of illegal immigration across our borders and the relatively weak government border controls. And their impact may be getting bigger.
As an example, this LATimes article Gov. Praises 'Minuteman' Campaign notes :
" Schwarzenegger said in a radio interview that the federal government is failing to secure the border with Mexico, and he cast the hundreds of private citizens who have been patrolling the Arizona-Mexico border since April 1 as a popular response to government inaction.
I think they've done a terrific job," Schwarzenegger said of the "Minuteman" volunteers, who plan to expand to California in June. "They've cut down the crossing of illegal immigrants a huge percentage. So it just shows that it works when you go and make an effort and when you work hard. It's a doable thing."
The governor added that, "It's just that our federal government is not doing their job. It's a shame that the private citizen has to go in there and start patrolling our borders." "
And in Michelle Malkin's Washington Times Commentary today :
" This week, following the successful Minuteman Project of citizen border patrols, hundreds of citizen lobbyists descended on Capitol Hill to send the same message. They are led by some of the nation's most influential conservative radio talk shows in every major market -- including organizer Roger Hedgecock from San Diego, Melanie Morgan from San Francisco, "The John and Ken Show" based in Los Angeles, Lars Larson in Portland, and Michael Smerconish in Philadelphia. On their agenda: fixing the nation's broken deportation and detention system; ending policies that give illegal aliens sanctuary; strengthening interior enforcement; and shutting off illegal alien magnets, including health, education and Social Security benefits. "
She also cites considerable interest by Democrat legislators to fix the illegal immigration problem. Perhaps there is hope for more serious government action, perhaps along the lines of stricter border controls combined with some form of legal temporary worker progam. That might be popular combination as indicated by this AP article Voters favor Minutemen, guest workers , that claims :
"In all, 57 percent of those interviewed said they supported the Minuteman Project, while 34 percent were opposed and 9 percent did not know or gave no opinion. Bush's guest worker program drew 62 percent backing, with 29 percent opposed and 9 percent saying they did not know or expressing no opinion."
Chris Simcox, a key organaizer of the MMP, has plans for a next step possibly by this Fall. In a recent interview, he said there are about 15,000 volunteers who have committed to patrolling the border in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. The group is also incorporating, assembling a staff and opening a national fundraising campaign. Sounds like a success story that may be snowballing across the nation - from the Arizona desert no less!
