Minuteman National Blog

A lot of people reading this met Sheriff Larry Dever last April. Others have seen him on the national news.

Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever hopes this trip to Washington will make a difference.

Dever will appear Wednesday before two U.S. Senate panels to give a firsthand account of violence on the U.S.-Mexican border.

"It''s pretty pervasive, no doubt about that," the 30-year law enforcement veteran said. "It seems to be escalating rather than us getting a hold of it."

Overseeing more than 83 miles of border that has become an unofficial gateway into the United States for an incalculable number of border crossers has made Dever something of an expert on the impact of illegal immigration.

Drug smuggling, human smuggling, high-speed chases — Dever first told federal lawmakers about some of the problems his deputies were having in 1997, his first year as sheriff in Arizona''s southeastern-most county.

"Much of what I''m going to say is the same," he said. "A lot of it is still valid today." What has changed, he said, is both the level of violence and public awareness of the problem.

"Twenty or 25 years ago, people would just give up," Dever said of the encounters he had as a young deputy with smugglers or illegal border crossers. "Now it''s a fight. They''re much more brazen."

They''re also much more sophisticated. Smugglers often "have better communication systems than we do," he said, including forward surveillance teams, encrypted radio transmissions and mountaintop antennas.

"The stakes are much higher," he said. "I guess failure is not acceptable to smuggling cartels."

--snip--

Dever will testify before a joint meeting of the Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security and the Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship. The committees, chaired by Kyl and Cornyn, are holding hearings on strategies to reduce border violence.

Also appearing is U.S. Border Patrol Chief David Aguilar, who spoke about border violence on a visit to Nogales in January.

Asked if he''s nervous about his testimony, Dever said he is long past being intimidated by Washington.

"I''ve delivered this message so many times I''m beyond the realm of being uncomfortable," he said.

Congressman Tom Tancredo weighs in on the bill put forth by Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter. This bill will begin debate and "markup" in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, March 2, 2006.

Pop the popcorn!

Tancredo Calls Specter''s Bill ''Unmitigated Disaster''

By Congressional Desk

February 24, 2006

Lawbreakers Hit Jackpot with Blanket Amnesty, Massive Visa Increase, Minimal Employer Fines

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) assailed Sen. Arlen Specter''s 13 million person amnesty that the Judiciary Committee chairman introduced today. Specter''s bill, which is expected to be used as the basis of immigration discussions in the Senate Judiciary Committee next month, would grant a blanket amnesty to illegal aliens currently in the U.S., adds almost no personnel or equipment to secure the border, fails to significantly increase penalties for illegal employers, and overwhelms America''s immigration system with countless new legal immigrants.

"Words almost fail to describe the threat this bill poses to our national and economic security," said Tancredo. "By legalizing the millions upon millions of illegal aliens in the U.S., Specter makes a mockery of our laws and crushes our already strained legal immigration system. The American people will not stand by idly as this unmitigated disaster makes its way through the Senate."

In addition to its massive amnesty, Specter''s bill does almost nothing to secure our porous borders from illegal immigrants-whether they come for work or for more nefarious purposes. For example, Congress has already authorized at least 10,000 new Customs and Border Protection officers; Specter wants to hire a paltry 250. Since 1996, Congress funded a functional entry-exit system for immigration screening (known as US-VISIT) - the Administration still has not implemented the program, and Specter''s bill merely calls for a timeline for implementation. The House reform bill authorized more than 700 miles of border fencing; Specter''s bill calls for yet another study into a fence.

~SNIP~

To read the entire article, click on the title link!

Here we go again...

The U.S. Border Patrol has confirmed that a Mexican government helicopter crossed into the United States Tuesday evening.

The unmarked helicopter crossed into the U.S. near San Luis, Ariz., at 6:30 p.m. and traveled along the Colorado River for approximately a half a mile before returning to Mexico, according to a Customs and Border Protection release.

"After proper coordination and verifications with the government of Mexico, they confirmed that the helicopter belonged to the Mexican Attorney General''s Office (PGR) and had mistakenly and unintentionally crossed into U.S. airspace," the release said.

--snip--

Local border watcher Flash Sharrar, who saw the helicopter while on patrol near County 12th Street, remained steadfast that the helicopter was carrying Mexican soldiers, not federal agents. "That was Mexican military," he said. "You could see the uniforms."

Sharrar, the co-founder of the Yuma Patriots, said the chopper traveled much farther than a half-mile while it was in the United States. He said it was circling in U.S. airspace for as long as 20 minutes.

--snip--

Sharrar said he was "still in awe" that the incursion had happened. When asked if he felt vindicated, Sharrar said instead he felt "violated."

"Let''s say it was a terrorist dropping something into our country," he said. "That''s a big concern. I feel violated as a citizen and as a patroller."

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

SENATOR SPECTER’S BORDER AND IMMIGRATION BILL A FACADE

(PHOENIX, AZ) February 24, 2006 – The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps (“MCDC”) rejects the border and immigration proposal put forth by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter as a façade to lull the American people into believing he is addressing national security.

Al Garza, National Executive Director of MCDC issued the following statement on the bill:

“Senator Specter’s bill calls for taking time to study border security measures while granting amnesty to millions of illegal aliens who have violated our sovereignty and laws. The priorities set forth in Senator Specter’s bill are backwards—we need to secure the border immediately while studying the effects on illegal immigration should the federal government actually enforce immigration and employment laws.

“In a time of war, while international criminal cartels maintain operational control of our borders and terrorists are threatening to attack America with weapons of mass destruction, it is outrageous that Senator Specter is more concerned with granting amnesty to illegal aliens than protecting the American people.

“The Minutemen will be returning to the border for the month of April to demonstrate to the government how to secure the borders. We invite Senator Specter and the other 99 United States Senators to join us at the border.”

Dena Bunis of the Orange County Register scoops the media with a report on Sen. Specter''s 350 page bill to (pick your pejorative) America on border security and illegal immigration:

Some details:

• Additional enforcement agents, increased technology at the border, a requirement for the Department of Homeland Security to submit plans for systematic surveillance of land and sea borders, as well as a national strategy for border security. It requires DHS to report to Congress on whether a fencing system along the northern, southern and maritime borders of the U.S. is necessary. It tightens laws regarding deportation, increases penalties for document fraud, particularly as it relates to marriage fraud.

• A new workplace enforcement program, including a measure authored by Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, that would require employers to check the Social Security numbers of new hires against a federal data base. Unlike the bill passed by the House, most employers would have to check only new workers, although the homeland security secretary could require workplaces with potential homeland or national security concerns to also check the status of current employees. The employer plan would be phased in over five years.

• Creates a new temporary worker visa – H-2C. Residents of foreign countries who can show they have a job waiting can get this visa for three years, renewable for another three years. These workers would be required to return to their home countries after their work visas expire.

• Creates a new student visa category – F-4. This would allow students pursuing advanced degrees in math, engineering, technology or the physical sciences to stay in the United States for a year after they graduate to look for work. If they get a job, they would be allowed to get a green card after paying a $1,000 fee and passing security clearances.

• Increases the number of employment-based green cards from 140,000 to 290,000.

• Increases the number of visas available for unskilled workers.

• Creates a new conditional work authorization status. This would allow illegal immigrants who can prove they were here and working in the United States before Jan. 4, 2004, to pay a $500 fee, undergo background checks, pay any income taxes owed for work before Jan. 4, 2004, and get a conditional work status. Illegal immigrants who have been ordered deported would not be eligible for this status.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will take this up next Thursday, March 2nd.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

TAXPAYER FUNDED CASA DE MARYLAND THREATENS CHILDREN OF MINUTEMEN

(PHOENIX, AZ) February 23, 2006 – Casa de Maryland, a taxpayer funded organization that caters to illegal aliens, has threatened to target the children of Minuteman Civil Defense Corps (“MCDC”) volunteers who peacefully and lawfully exercise their civil rights by seeking the enforcement of laws regarding employment, illegal immigration and border security.
Gustavo Torres, Executive Director of Casa de Maryland, in an article by the Gazette published February 22, 2006 and posted on the Casa de Maryland website, is quoted saying of the Minutemen:
“We are going to picket their houses, and the schools of their kids, and go to their work.”

http://www.casademaryland.org/press/feb22-2006(5).htm

Among other ugly things, this statement raises the specter of Casa de Maryland spying on the children of Minutemen at their homes and stalking them to determine where they go to school.

The threat to target the children of Minutemen was issued in response to the formation of the Maryland chapter of MCDC and its plans to observe day labor centers in the state and report employers for possible violations of the law by hiring suspected illegal aliens.

According to the 2004-2005 annual statement of Casa de Maryland, 51% of the group’s $2.7 million budget came from grants issued by Montgomery County, Md., the state of Maryland and the federal government. Casa de Maryland states it also receives grants from nationally known companies including IBM, Ford Motors and REMAX. Law firms including Arent, Fox and Crowell, Mooring also are claimed by Casa De Maryland as donors. The Barbara Bush Foundation for Literacy is also listed by the group as a donor.

Chris Simcox, President of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, issued the following statement denouncing Casa de Maryland:

“It is despicable that law-abiding citizens who simply seek the enforcement of our nation’s laws in the name of national security are subjected to gangland-style tactics by a taxpayer funded group that is working to undermine the rule of law in this country.

“Threatening children like this is outrageous. Casa de Maryland’s funding should be pulled and its contracts cancelled. It is beyond belief that taxpayer dollars are funding this thuggish behavior.

“MCDC demands an investigation by the U.S. Justice Department into potential violations of the civil rights of Minuteman volunteers by Casa De Maryland.

“As this is still the United States of America, our God-given and constitutionally-guaranteed rights are protected. The Minutemen will not be intimidated from responsibly exercising them.”

Constitutional Law Attorney Gary G. Kreep, of the United States Justice Foundation stated, “The public threat by Mr. Torres, of Casa de Maryland, to have the children of members of the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps followed to their schools and to have the members themselves followed to their places of employment, for the obvious purpose of alarming the parents of the children and stalking and/or seriously annoying the members, is an attempt to harass the members of the Minutemen into foregoing their First amendment rights to petition their government, and to speak out, on matters of public import. Such actions by Mr. Torres and his followers would appear to have no legal purpose, and are intended to suppress a political view that Mr. Torres, et al, oppose. Harassing and frightening little children at their schools is not authorized, or protected, by state or federal law, and appears to be intended to convey a threat to the parents that if they do not knuckle under to the political correctness demanded by Mr. Torres, their children will be in danger. The United States Justice Foundation hereby offers to take whatever legal action is necessary or appropriate to protect these children and to protect the Constitutional rights of the members of the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps."

The Los Angeles Times published an opinion piece by liberal writer Marc Cooper challenging the Minutemen to go work on the farm rather than secure the border:

THE LEADERS of the anti-immigration Minutemen have begun another monthlong sweep along the Southwest border, searching for illegal aliens.

But a rugged, mountainous desert border is the toughest place to find large groups of the undocumented. These guys should stow their binoculars, fold up their lawn chairs and head not south but, rather, north to California''s lush Central Valley.

All the Minutemen have to do is go up to the flyspeck towns around Fresno or Bakersfield, get up around 4 a.m. and watch the thousands of illegals mustering for a day''s work picking, packing or pruning our basic crops.

The illegals have no access to welfare programs, so it''s either work or go home. If the Minutemen were smart, they''d trade in their side arms for a pair of gloves and a straw hat and simply take those jobs back from the illegals — even for a month. Just get out on the highways and offer themselves up to the labor contractors and, boom, our illegal alien problem is over.

SNIP

Click the title link for the rest of this gem.

We have a suggestion in response to Mr. Cooper: Americorps.

(Oh, and get your facts right, Marc. The monthlong border operation starts in April, and we''re not anti-immigrant.)

This "air report" just sent in by Stacey O''Connell, State Director of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, Arizona:

Up, Up, and Away, or Size Does Matter

Last Friday night on the "Naco Line" was more of the "same old, same old" - watching and waiting (the wind and rain took away the listening). But Saturday morning, all that tedium changed to WOW!

Stacey asked me if I would be the "spotter" in our observation airplane! Lucky me! I fit the bill for the small plane. This is one time when being small was an advantage. So I was the happy spotter on Saturday and Sunday!

I soon discovered how important an "eye in the sky" is to our effort to locate and report illegal entrants into our country! The wide, wide view from above made the many well-worn trails strikingly clear. They came from Mexico, right through the Border, and on into the United States. We saw piles of plastic water jugs on our side of the border and the tell-tale blue flag just inside the Mexican border. This was graphic evidence of the huge amount of illegal traffic.

I think the observation plane can be even more effective where the "Line" is established some distance from the border, such as the King Ranch below Robles Junction. Flying between the Border and our "Line," the plane can spot early and alert the Border Patrol and our Minutemen.

A couple of turns David made gave me quite a thrill and the strong winds continually buffeted the plane, even forcing us to land on an alternate, dirt runway. All in all, a great experience!

This nifty little airplane is owned and expertly piloted by fellow Minuteman, David Roglin, a very nifty guy, who has my sincere thanks!

Barb Werstler

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

INT''L CRIMINAL CARTELS CONTROL OUR BORDERS
WHILE POLITICIANS GRANDSTAND ON PORT SECURITY

(PHOENIX, AZ) February 21, 2006 – Chris Simcox, President of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, issued the following statement regarding the current political debate on the management of American ports by a foreign company:

“I have watched in disgust this week as grandstanding politicians who have for decades allowed international criminal cartels free passage of drugs, weapons and human chattel across our borders now rush to the microphones in the name of national security to decry government contracts with an Arab-owned and Mideast-based corporation to operationally manage several U.S. shipping ports.

“Many of these politicians noisily vowing to do everything in their power to stop Dubai Ports World from managing the operations at six of our shipping ports have repeatedly refused to do anything in their power to secure our borders.

“Brutal international drug cartels, operating under the protection of the Mexican military, ship thousands of tons of drugs across our border with impunity every year. These criminal gangs also traffic massive inventories of contraband in weapons, stolen cars and, most outrageously, human beings. Yet there is no rush to the television news cameras by Senators Schumer, Menendez, and Hillary Clinton—much less by Senate Majority Leader Frist or House Speaker Hastert— demanding our borders immediately be secured against these violent foreign lawbreakers.

“It is well known that terrorists are seeking to exploit the vulnerability of our open borders. They see that millions upon millions of aliens have been able to sneak into this country—illegally under our federal laws, yet virtually unchecked. Experts say it is not a matter of ‘if but when’ terrorists cross our open borders to attack America. Why in the world should terrorists try to ship nuclear, chemical or biological weapons through our shipping ports, when they can walk or drive them across the border with ease?

“The Department of Homeland Security recently admitted the U.S. government does not have control of either our northern or our southern borders. If the same level of outrage now expressed by our elected officials about the port deal had emerged when Homeland Security made that admission of gross failure and dereliction of duty, these same politicians would have acted to ensure that troops be placed along our nation’s frontier immediately, to protect this country. Instead, they are playing politics in a dangerous debate over amnesty disguised as guest worker programs, and grandstanding on the headline-grabbing issue du jour of the ports deal, while well-organized international drug cartels and criminal gangs continue to maintain operational control of our borders.

“The Minutemen urge these politicians to transfer some of their worst-case scenarios about DP World’s management of our ports to the real-world domination of our nation’s ‘border security’ by international drug cartels and criminal gangs. Maybe that will wake them up to the threat posed by our out-of-control border crisis. Until then, the Minutemen will continue to stand vigilant watch over our borders—doing the job these politicians refuse to do.”

Bertha Rodríguez Santos wrote this article published by the Narco News Bulletin. Again, it''s good to read what the other side thinks.

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY: The whole city is covered in snow. Houses and businesses are white; the streets and forests have transformed into white blotches provoking a chill that pierces to the bone. In the middle of this harsh winter, the absence of friends and relatives, and the helplessness that comes with being indocumentados (undocumented workers) thousands of Mexicans use their own dreams as their main source of strength to continue in the United States despite adversity.

Dreams of building a house, starting a business or allowing their children to study energize thousands of Mexican immigrants that work in this country. Dreams help them to endure long days of work in exchange for little pay, and, many times, to cope with experiences they have faced throughout their whole lives. At the end of the day, some immigrants believe that their experiences in this country are like a dream from which they will some day awaken.

The Crossing: Gambling with Life and Death

The stories are as numerous as the undocumented immigrants from all over the world that live in this country. According to unofficial statistics they have reached 12 million, most of them Mexicans and Central Americans.

Alberto Cruz Aguirre, 38 years old and a native of Oaxaca City, has traveled six times to el Norte, but it was on the last trip that he almost lost his life. On June 17, 2005, after several attempts to cross the border near Tijuana in a single week, he and two companions decided to separate themselves from the group of 20 people with whom they were traveling. With some luck, they found a guide who offered to bring them to the other side for $1,800.

After walking in the darkness of night for an hour, having passed Mexicali and very close to the city of Calexico, they ran into a sewage canal.

“Know how to swim?” asked the guide.

Beto was frozen with fear, for, as his friends know well, he had never in his life crossed a river swimming.

“We had no choice but to keep going, we couldn’t turn back now,” he remembers, as he reflects that once someone heads off for the United States, his mind is made up to cross the border or die trying. “It’s like carrying a pistol that could go off at any moment,” he says.

SNIP

This is a long tear-jerker of an article. Click the title link for the rest of it.

Hello friends,

Thanks for your dedication during this weekend''s muster in Cochise. It seems the enemy monitors us closely. Intelligence from my Border Patrol friends indicate the flood just went around our lines - most notably the original Naco line that ended on the east side of Douglas near Paul Spur. Border Patrol apprehended just over one thousand in that area for the 2-days we were on the line in Huachuca and Naco. They thanked us for funneling the flood in their direction.

B.P. said they were ready to respond guessing this would happen (ready as best they could with what they have) and were busy 24/7, as the flood just did an end around on the MCDC.

The coyote scouts read our website and patrol our area with spies on our side. Someday we may have enough support for 24/7 365 observers. 3 points is a whole different ball game as they have no idea where we will be at any given time. April will be busy.

Chris Simcox

The Washington Times reports on a phone call yesterday between President Bush and President Fox about the border:

President Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox agreed yesterday to try to reduce violence on the U.S.-Mexico border and pledged to have their countries'' domestic security departments work together on the issue.

In a telephone conversation, Mr. Bush designated Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to be the top U.S. contact on border violence, and Mr. Fox tapped Interior Secretary Carlos Abascal Carranza as his point man.

"The two leaders talked about the importance of working together to improve our border security and stop the violence," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.

SNIP

Rafael Laveaga, a spokesman for the Mexican Embassy in Washington, said yesterday that by designating top-level contacts the two countries are trying to present a united front in the fight against organized crime.

"At the highest level, they are talking about strengthening the idea and the importance of fighting together against a phenomenon that goes both ways," he said.

He said the criminal organizations operate on both sides of the border, smuggling firearms south into Mexico and drugs north into the United States.

"This is a problem that knows no boundaries," he said.

SNIP

The Canadian media reports there will be a summit between Prime Minister Harper, President Bush and President Fox in Cancun in late March.

Cox News Service reports on the efforts by state legislatures to deal with the failure of the federal government to secure our borders:

SNIP

With immigration issues, legislators find themselves, quite literally, making up new laws as they go along. And it is difficult to read the issue politically: In some areas, it''s a white-hot subject; in others, it''s more a nagging concern.

At the center are Arizona and New Mexico, whose Democratic governors, Janet Napolitano and Bill Richardson, last year declared a state of emergency on their Mexican border areas. But the Southeast also has been fertile ground for new legislation. The region saw the nation''s largest percentage growth in Hispanic population from 1990 to 2000, most of it immigrants.

Some 40 bills have been dropped in the Virginia Legislature since January, and every Southern state has considered legislation during the past year, said Julia Kirchner, the Federation for American Immigration Reform''s deputy director for government relations.

John Keeley is communications director for the Center for Immigration Studies, which favors reduced immigration levels and a greater effort to integrate immigrants into the mainstream. "I think the Southeastern states, because of the immigration numbers that have just skyrocketed since the 1990 census, are grappling with these issues simply because they can no longer wait for Washington to act," Keeley said. .

Even places on the Canadian border, however, are getting into the act. Last month, for example, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican, announced the creation of a state enforcement team to crack down on illegal immigrants, and called for stiffer penalties for marketing in false identity documents.

SNIP

Click the title link to read the entire article.

Happy Presidents Day. That eery rumbling sound is our Founding Fathers rolling over in their graves.

In preparation for a debate in the Senate next month on immigration policy, Senator Pete Domenici (R-New Mexico) has introduced legislation that would grant amnesty to an estimated 12 million people now living illegally in the U.S. and admit an additional 500,000 new guest workers plus dependant family members every year. Under the Domenici legislation, known as the Welcoming Immigrants to a Secure Homeland (WISH) of 2006 bill, all of the "guest workers" would eventually be allowed to become permanent residents.

In addition to creating a new guest worker visa, the WISH Act would vastly expand existing guest worker programs. Under the Domenici bill, limits on H-1B high tech workers would be virtually eliminated, and foreign student visas would be almost automatically convertible to permanent residency.

"There is virtually no American job, educational opportunity, or community that would not be undermined by this disastrous piece of legislation," said Dan Stein, president of FAIR. "Under the WISH Act, millions of illegal aliens would be rewarded with amnesty, and business interests would be granted access to unlimited numbers of guest workers who will never have to leave. For ordinary Americans, the legislation holds the promise of downwardly spiraling wages, massive population growth and the collapse of vital social institutions.

"The vast majority of the American public is demanding that our nation''s immigration laws be enforced," Stein continued. "Under the Domenici bill, our nation''s immigration laws would simply be eliminated. Americans would have no greater claim to the right to live and work in the United States than anyone, anywhere on the face of the planet."

The levels of future immigration to the United States that would result from passage of the WISH Act would be staggering. Under our current legal immigration policy, the United States admits nearly one million people annually, the overwhelming majority coming to reunite with extended family members in this country. The Domenici amnesty would not only allow the estimated 12 million illegal aliens now here to become permanent residents, but would also entitle them to petition for their extended families to join them here. On top of that, if each of the 500,000 new permanent guest workers created annually by the WISH Act brought just two dependants, that would result in 1.5 million more immigrants arriving every year. Added to that figure would be an unlimited number of H-1B workers and foreign college graduates who convert student visas into permanent residency visas.

"The damage that the Domenici bill would do every aspect of life in America would be incalculable," said Stein. "In very short order, America would become a vastly overpopulated nation devoid of a middle class. The United States Senate owes it to the American public to reject this and similar amnesty and guest worker bills and focus on protecting our borders and the survival of the American middle class," concluded Stein.

Any more doubts about how far our politicians will go to sell the rest of us out?