Minuteman Project claims they helped apprehend 19 migrants : AZ IMC

On April 3, the Minuteman Project reports they aided in the apprehension of 18 undocumented migrants when the volunteers called U.S. Border Patrol after sighting the group walking through a private ranch west just north of the U.S.-Arizona border.

According to the Project, the migrants were then detained by Border Patrol agents. Jim Gilchrist, Minuteman Project co-organizer, also said that a Guatemalan migrant who crossed the border after being separated from his group, walked into the main Minuteman Project camp. They claimed the Guatemalan man approached the volunteers asking for water and food. Border Patrol was also called.

Grupo Beta, a Mexican group that helps migrants on the Mexican side of the border, was patrolling the border Sunday. The group regularly patrols the border, giving the migrants water but also attempts to convince them to return home. Founded 12 years ago, Grupo Beta has been helping migrants who are routinely robbed and assaulted during their journeys north. Bertha A. de la Rosa Carrizales, coordinator for Grupo Beta, said that the group approached 30 to 40 migrants in the desert on Saturday and Sunday, alerting them of the Minuteman Project.

The sight of the three orange Grupo Beta vehicles stirred excitement with the Minuteman Project volunteers after sitting for hours without seeing anybody. “It is ironic that Vicente Fox and the Mexican government does not provide for their citizens but then comes out in the desert to save them,” said Chris Simcox, Minuteman Project brainchild.

The American Civil Liberties Union continued to have a presence on the border, monitoring the Minuteman Project volunteers to protest first amendment freedoms and migrants’ human rights. Four representatives in the Arizona State Legislature joined the legal observation team including Steve Gallardo, David Lujan, Tom Prezelski and Kyrsten Sinema.

“The Minuteman Project is a symptom of our failed immigration policy,” Sinema, D-House District 15, said while standing on the U.S.-Mexico border. “The Project is an example that we have lost focus on a healthy border policy.”

A humanitarian group in Agua Prieta, a Mexican border town hear to the Minuteman Project, was handing out bright red fliers warning migrants of the armed civilian patrol on the other side of the border.

Two Minuteman Project air patrols were launched Sunday, days earlier than planned. The small white airplanes flew back and forth over the Project volunteers. According to the Minuteman Project website, 40 licensed pilots with 16 aircrafts had registered.

According to Simcox, five border monitoring sectors have been set up. Arizona Indymedia observed only one of these sectors. Dubbed the “Naco Sector,” nine observation posts were set up with approximately four Minuteman Project volunteers. Three 8-hour shifts rotate volunteers in and out of the desert.

Just before dusk on Sunday, the Minuteman Project claimed to observe another five undocumented migrants crossing the border and called Border Patrol. Agents showed up 20 minutes later and left on foot in the direction the migrants supposedly went. A Border Patrol helicopter was call in. No reports have been confirmed if anyone was apprehended by the Agents.

Grupo Beta routinely monitors the border helping migrants by giving them food and water. The group often tries to convince migrants to go back home. Over the weekend, Grupo Beta said they alerted 30-40 migrants about the presence of the Minuteman Project.

A humanitarian group in Agua Prieta, Sonora, handed out these fliers to individuals waiting to travel across the U.S. border. The flier warned them of the armed vigilante group that is monitoring the border between Douglas and the San Pedro River.

I found this article about labor hero Cesar Chavez: http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050330/news_lz1e30navar.html

Here's the ironic part: Despite the fact that Chávez is these days revered among Mexican-American activists, the labor leader in his day was no more tolerant of illegal immigration than the Arizona Minutemen are now. Worried that the hiring of illegal immigrants drove down wages, Chávez – according to numerous historical accounts – instructed union members to call the Immigration and Naturalization Service to report the presence of illegal immigrants in the fields and demand that the agency deport them. UFW officials were even known to picket INS offices to demand a crackdown on illegal immigrants.

And in 1973, in one of the most disgraceful [sic] - his word not mine chapters in UFW history, the union set up a "wet line" to prevent Mexican immigrants [sic] - should be "illegal aliens" from entering the United States. Under the guidance of Chávez 's cousin, Manuel, UFW members tried at first to convince the immigrants not to cross. When that didn't work, they physically attacked the immigrants and left some bloody in the process. It happened in the same place that the Minutemen are now planning to gather: the Arizona-Mexico border.