Vigilantes make for a dangerous border

By DIANA LEDESMA

Most people would agree that controlling our border is certainly important and our government has ignored it for too long, yet taking matters into our own hands is definitely not the solution.

Recently, a group of private civilians have proclaimed themselves as border patrollers. They have stationed themselves from Douglas to Naco, cities on the southeast border of Arizona.

These so-called “minutemen” have volunteered to aid border patrol with the capturing of illegal immigrants.

Frustrated citizens have taken matters into their own hands.

Understandably, local ranchers say they are tired of the property damage and trash that illegal immigrants leave behind. It costs them both money and time to replace everything.

So they have joined forces with others who think alike, including retired veterans and citizens reportedly belonging to racist organizations.

Authorities say the minutemen have complicated matters because some of the border patrols from other states have had to be removed to be placed in Arizona’s “hot spot”.

In addition to looking out for immigrants, border patrollers now have to keep one eye on the minutemen to make sure they are not being violent.

The coordinator of the minutemen, Jim Gilchrist, has informed the media that everything is running “like a well-oiled machine.”

The situation is already out of control.

Ebner Anivel, a leader of the violent, terror-connected Latin American gang Rivera-Paz, reportedly issued orders from federal prison to members of his international criminal organization to teach a lesson to the group of Americans taking border control into their own hands.

Some minutemen carry firearms to protect themselves from the dangerous immigrants.

Mexican President Vicente Fox, as well as other organization leaders, have expressed that they will be alert and will identify crimes committed by the minutemen, such as battery, false arrest, assault and more.

The minutemen project has also promoted racism. While the project is supposedly concerned with legality, a Phoenix television station sent undercover reporters as minutemen volunteers to capture footage of volunteers performing racial abuse and carrying shotguns.

Marc, a volunteer, was recorded saying “You walk into a McDonald’s and you wake up and realize the entire third world is here.”

Meanwhile, the reporters heard someone say that “there was a standoff and people got killed.”

Some of the minutemen, according to the reporters, took out their cameras and excitedly began recording the event. The reporters also said they were the only unarmed volunteers in their group.

The Associated Press also reported that a man told authorities three of the minutemen volunteers held him against his will and forced him to pose for a photo while holding up a shirt that read, “Bryon Barton caught an illegal alien and all I got was a T-shirt.” Barton was one of the three volunteers.

This is what Gilchrist calls a well-oiled machine. What will happen if the minutemen project continues?

The 2000 Census reported a significant 25.3 percent Hispanic or Latino population in Arizona. People who live in Arizona and look like immigrants will indeed be looked down upon.

What’s going to happen if one of them gets mistaken and deported? The only thing we can expect from this project is racial tension in a state with a rising Hispanic population.