In 2005 when the Minuteman Corps of CA first appeared at the US/Mexican border to stage a month-long protest, the situation looked bleak. What few Border Patrol Agents there were had aged equipment and little fence to stop the human tidal wave of illegal immigrants coming across. Today, Border Security along the Mexican line is slowly becoming a reality.
About 300 citizen volunteers participated in that first "muster" or border watch in California. Their mission was not to stop traffic but to observe and report border incursions of people, drugs and contraband to the authorities and to draw public attention to the tragedy of our open border with Mexico. The protest sparked a nationwide debate over illegal immigration and border security that continues to this day. At one point, more than 300 splinter groups appeared on the national scene and like anything else borne out of controversy, the Minuteman movement has had it's share of controversial characters. Very few of the organizations worked together or even knew about one another let alone cooperate. It was and is a fractious movement.
In California however, these volunteers kept a low profile, working closely with Border Patrol to build a mutually beneficial partnership. Though unofficial, citizen intelligence became the leading source of information about illegal traffic along the divide. Shunning the spotlight for the most part, this group quietly amassed a record of over one million man hours of volunteer border watch efforts in the most dangerous neighborhood in America without a single major injury or incident.
After concluding the groups 8th month-long muster and 47h overall yesterday, Minuteman leader Bob R had this to say.
"When we arrived in '05, our goal was to be a force multiplier for the Border Patrol, much like a neighborhood watch, lending our eyes and ears to the effort. We wanted to draw attention to the vastly open borders and the human tragedy of illegal immigration in a non-violent fashion. In this we have succeeded beyond our wildest imagination."
Not all "Minuteman" efforts have been this successful and non-violent. Anyone it seems could adopt the Minuteman name and some with darker motives did. The media did little to highlight the successes and dwelled heavily on the negatives to the delight of the left and open borders advocates.
Whatever your opinion or politics, few can ignore the fact that in 2009, four years after they first appeared on the scene, the border in California is considerably more secure. During previous month-long events, citizens would observe hundreds of illegal border crossers in groups of 40 people or more. In stark contrast this last month there were hundreds of border agents and the group observed a mere 14 people trying to cross. The border crossers are often now singles up to 4 or 5 men, women or children. The tracks or sign dotting the once foot-worn trails on the north side have been replaced with desert flowers and scrub brush. There are still smugglers moving people and drugs across but the numbers have dwindled due to increased enforcement and a daunting border fence in some places.
The smugglers didn't do themselves any favors. The assassination of Border Agent Robert Rosas in July brought more than 400 agents to the area for temporary assignment. Their job was to lock it down and nary a Mexican ground squirrel got across the line without their knowledge. Now weeks after they have left, the containment area, that land south of highway 94 is a no man's land unless you are wearing green.
The Minutemen grieved over the loss of Agent Rosas and cooperated with the authorities so they could do their jobs and secure the area. In early August they returned to their posts and continued their vigil.
"We can't take credit for the reduction in traffic. We are only observers" Bob noted, "But we do take a great degree of satisfaction in knowing that our citizen protest sparked the government to work harder to secure the border and put the resources so desperately needed by the Border Patrol into place. Despite claims to the contrary, there is not one single recorded incident of violence by our group. It is not what we are about."
As for the future of the group Bob added: "We're not declaring victory by any means. There is still much work to be done here in California and Arizona is under siege. We'll continue to keep an eye on things and put our efforts where they are needed most."
Author's note: The author was the leader of this group from 2006-2008.
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Comments
An indicator of the effectiveness of the improved border security is the rise in apprehensions of human/drug smugglers along the 50-miles of coast-line near the Mexican border and discovery of tunnels. But, smuggler continue to exploit all avenues, and drug cartels infiltrate the USA to establish grow houses, drug labs and grow sites in the state parks, national forests, or foreclosed homes.
So doesn't our government do more? Build fences, plant sensors in the ground, use dogs, use ground searching radar, more troops, more border patrol.
Minutemen are just about making money.
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