Vigilantes patrol US border: the politics of the Minuteman Project

The right-wing outfit has won significant support from within the political establishment, particularly from the Republican Party. The promotion of the group has been part of a persistent attempt by sections of the American ruling elite to solidify a base of support by encouraging the most retrograde ideological conceptions. Plans are in the works for an extension of such volunteer border patrol projects to other states on the US-Mexico border, including California.

While the Minuteman Project in Arizona lasted one month, ending April 30, some volunteers have elected to stay on and take part in the broader border-monitoring activities of Civil Homeland Defense, the sponsoring organization of the project.

The organizers claim to have assembled over 800 volunteers for the month, all of whom completed a training program and spent at least one day on the border. They say the project was an overwhelming success, citing a sharp drop in the number of apprehensions in the area patrolled by MMP as evidence that the flow of undocumented immigrants was significantly reduced during the period. The activities of the group were widely publicized in Mexico, serving as a warning to those who would plan to cross the border into Arizona.

The project was initially met with skepticism and concern by the US Border Patrol and public officials, who feared the possibility of violent confrontations between volunteers and immigrants. The Arizona chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union organized volunteers of its own to monitor the Minutemen as legal observers and to report any incidents of violence or violations of human or civil rights against the immigrants. The Minuteman Project and the Civil Homeland Defense agreed, in light of public concern, not to allow its members to carry rifles or shotguns, although they were allowed to carry handguns on their patrols.

While none of the Minutemen themselves were charged with any crimes of violence, during the vigilante exercise an Army reservist, Sgt. Patrick Haab, illegally detained seven undocumented Mexican immigrants at gunpoint after confronting them at a rest stop in Arizona on April 10. While he was initially charged with assault with a deadly weapon, right-wing Arizona prosecutors declined to prosecute him. He has since become a fixture on the conservative talk radio circuit and has been celebrated by the Minutemen and other anti-immigrant groups.

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http://wsws.org/articles/2005/may2005/minu-m20.shtml