Schwarzenegger Backs Minutemen

A controversial project by a group of armed private Americans to patrol the border with Mexico has received an unexpected boost from California's governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Twice last week the Austrian-born actor-turned-politician praised the Minuteman project in Arizona, saying it was an understandable response to the failure of the federal government to patrol the border. He said the group would be welcome to patrol California's border with Mexico.

His comments came just a week after he said the border with Mexico should be "sealed". He subsequently withdrew the remarks.

Mr Schwarzenegger told a Los Angeles radio station last Thursday that the Minuteman group had done a "terrific" job. "They've cut down the crossing of illegal immigrants a huge percentage. So it just shows that it works when you make an effort. It's just that our federal government is not doing their job."

The next day he reinforced his praise for the group, condemned as "vigilantes" by George Bush. "When the government ... doesn't do its job, then the private citizens go out and it's like a neighbourhood patrol."

The Minutemen spent April patrolling a 23-mile stretch of the border in Arizona. Their aim, organisers said, was to spot and report suspected illegal migrants. The group claimed to have helped the capture of almost 350 people.

Mr Schwarzenegger's comments were condemned by Democrats, immigrants' rights groups, the Mexican government and some Republicans.

"The hypocrisy of the governor is incredible," Mark Silverman of the Immigrant Legal Resource Centre told the San Francisco Chronicle, pointing out that Mr Schwarzenegger had admitted working illegally when he first entered the US.

The Mexican foreign ministry reminded him that Mexico was California's largest export market.