Legal Observers to Keep Eye on Minute Man Project : AZ IMC

Ray Ybarra, former spokesperson for the American Civil Liberties Union, spent years monitoring the vigilante groups in Cochise Country. Now he’s leading a grassroots effort to keep an eye on the Minuteman Project – a campaign led by southern Arizona vigilantes.

Ybarra hopes that the legal observation project will achieve three goals: serve as a deterrent for any migrant abuse, document any abuse that does occur for civil and criminal cases and to highlight the real tragedies that occur along the border. The legal observers will also monitor any counter demonstrations to the Minutemen Project.

According to the website, the Minuteman Project is “a grassroots effort to bring Americans to the defense of their homeland,” in an effort to put a stop to the “mobs of illegal aliens who endlessly stream across U.S. borders.” Supporters of the Minuteman Project feel that the state and federal governments have failed to secure the borders, allowing an “invasion” of Latinos and making the nation vulnerable to terrorist attack.

The Minuteman Project claims to have recruited individuals from all over the country to come to Cochise County, Arizona to “bring national awareness to the decades-long careless disregard of effective U.S. immigration law enforcement.” Their website says that more than 1,000 people have signed up to come to Arizona for their campaign, which is scheduled for the month of April. However, these claims have not been confirmed.

While the Minuteman Project advocates its volunteers remain “peaceful” and obey all Arizona laws, Ybarra and other border activists worry about the safety of the migrants who may encounter a Minuteman during their journey through the desert.

Vigilante groups in Arizona and Texas have been accused of abusing migrants through direct violence, intimidation, and illegal detention.

About 2,000 migrants have lost their lives while crossing the U.S./ México border since 1998. As usual for border-related vigilante groups, the Minuteman Project is only a near-sighted reaction to a larger problem with roots deep in economics, trade policy, neoliberalism and human rights abuses.

“Through my eyes, the problem is that what occurs on the U.S.-México border is one of the grossest human rights violations in the history of the United States. Here in our backyard, human beings have to face death and hatred in their pursuit of work that this country offers,” Ybarra said in a letter to Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever earlier in March.

Chris Simcox and Jim Gilchrist, long-time vigilante leaders and organizers of the Minuteman Project, say that observation stations will be set up at 200-yard intervals along a 20-mile stretch of border between Douglas and the San Pedro River. The Minuteman’s web site gives only a vague job description; simply saying the volunteers will be responsible for “field observations and reporting activities.”

Armed with cameras, Ybarra hopes to set up legal observers directly behind each Minuteman Project observation station, an uncomfortable action for the ACLU. Until recently, the civil rights organization was in full support of Ibarra’s plan until it became the target of hateful and threatening messages and phone calls three weeks ago. The idea of sending people out in the middle of the Sonoran Desert with potentially armed, racist individuals seemed too risky.

“This is extremely dangerous. I am not going to pull the hood over anyone’s face,” Ybarra said. Due to the ACLU’s recent withdrawal of support for the plan, Ibarra sent in his letter of resignation from the organization.

“If the ACLU cannot support me for what needs to go on, then I’ll have to continue with out them,” he said.

The ACLU hasn’t yet accepted Ibarra’s resignation. Eleanor Eisenberg, the executive director of Arizona ACLU, says the organization wants to redesign the project so it doesn’t potentially put volunteers at risk.

If you are interested in participating in the legal observation team throughout April to monitor the Minuteman Project or making donations, you can contact Beth Sanders with the American Friends Service Committee, at bsanders@afsc.org.

Upcoming legal observer trainings:
TUCSON: March 29, 5:30-6:30pm. The Quaker Meeting House, 931 N. 5th Avenue.
DOUGLAS: March 28, 5:30-6:30pm. Douglas Public Library, 560 10th Street.
PHOENIX: March 26, 1-2pm. Location TBA. Check the Arizona Indymedia Calendar ( http://arizona.indymedia.org/calendar ) or contact Beth.

Items Needed to help Legal Observers:
- Cameras (Digital are best, but all will be accepted)
- Video cameras (Digital are best, but all will be accepted)
- Notepads, pens, clipboards
- Binoculars
- Food/water
- Batteries
- Flashlights
- Money