Desertdog
Member
From what I heard it reduced the stream of illegals along their streach of border to almost nothing. The BP needs to work with the MM and they could save many hours of useless patrolling and more time catching illegals and smugglers.
Border watch volunteers form chapter in New Mexico
http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=3453178
New Mexico now has its own chapter of volunteers who plan to patrol the state's border with Mexico as part of the Minuteman Project.
The group announced in a news release Wednesday that Clifford Alford of Organ will serve as the chapter's leader.
"We are simply United States citizens who are concerned by what we see happening on the border, both in terms of increased violent criminal activity and in the possible erosion of basic civil rights," Alford said in the release. "As concerned citizens, we are doing what we can to rectify the situation and to make the border area safer, happier and better place to live."
The group drew international attention in April when volunteers showed up in Arizona to prove the border could be secured simply by putting more personnel there. Organizers say the group alerted the U.S. Border Patrol to suspicious behavior and helped catch 335 immigrants.
New Mexico is the last of four states along the border to organize a Minuteman chapter. No dates for patrols have been set, said James Chase, who helped organize patrols in Arizona and founded what he calls the U.S. Border Patrol Auxiliary.
"We're going to be in every border state," said Chase, who lives in Oceanside, Calif. "It's a big deal to smugglers and people who are trying to enter the country illegally. But it shouldn't be a big deal to law abiding American citizens."
Critics, including U.S. Border Patrol officials, have said the Minutemen are little more than a nuisance and distraction that attracted attention from the media and from civil rights groups watching for possible rights violations.
The announcement of a New Mexico chapter has created unease among some Las Cruces residents.
"Their presence on the border could create a lot more danger for everybody down there, including themselves," said Ernesto Granillo, a Mesquite farm worker who immigrated to the United States from Mexico nine years ago.
Chase emphasized that the organization isn't a militia and that racism and violence by any member will not be tolerated.
"We're just a neighborhood watch that's on the border," he said.
Although the organization considers itself an auxiliary of the Border Patrol, agency spokesman Doug Mosier said there's no official connection between the two.
"We have said all along that we appreciate the efforts of local citizens in reporting suspicious activities, but securing our borders is a tough job and should be the responsibility of highly trained law enforcement personnel, like the U.S. Border Patrol," he said.
Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., said he opposes the formation of a Minuteman chapter in New Mexico.
"What we need are an adequate number of highly trained Border Patrol agents securing the border, not untrained volunteers," Bingaman said.
Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said he isn't sure about the benefits of having the Minutemen on New Mexico's border.
"I don't know that a Minutemen organization is the best solution to the rampant illegal immigration problems on our border, but I can clearly understand the mounting frustration in the region," Domenici said.
The senators and Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., sent a letter Wednesday to Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Robert Bonner asking that security be increased along New Mexico's border. The letter said New Mexicans have growing concerns about their safety and the security of their property.
"Daily, our constituents along New Mexico's southern border deal with illegal aliens who travel across their land, cutting their fences and damaging their property," the letter states. "Our constituents who have first-hand knowledge of the situation believe hundreds of illegal aliens cross into New Mexico this way every day."
He knows better and I expect better,
