Arizona Minuteman Project Declared an Unqualified Success

By Gary Orlando

The self-appointed Arizona Minutemen finished up on May 1, 2005, with no shots being fired and nobody getting hurt. The Minutemen were formed as an all-volunteer group of civilians to help patrol a small section of the US-Mexican border to help document and report illegal alien crossings. The project began on April 1. After a 4-hour training session, volunteers were released to start their watches, which were usually scheduled in 8-hour shifts. It was reported that nearly 900 volunteers, some of them armed, had spent at least one eight-hour shift in the field during the month the project was in effect, working mostly stationary patrols along a 23-mile stretch of border in Arizona that was known to have a high incidence of illegal alien crossings. "This could not have been done without all of you. You did this together, you the people," co-organizer Chris Simcox told his volunteers at the conclusion of the project.

Not one single negative incident occurred that most naysayers of the project had predicted. There were no "shoot-outs" in the desert. There were no "hunting parties," and no "vigilante justice" situations. No one’s rights were violated. All and all, it was an unqualified success. Over 300 hundred arrests were made due to the vigilance of the volunteers. But how many crossings did the volunteers actually prevent? News travels fast on the border, and countless would-be illegal aliens probably changed their plans when they heard what was going on. There is no doubt that the project was a deterrent, and it should be continued. Of the 1.1 million illegal immigrants caught by the Border Patrol last year, more than half crossed the border through Arizona.

At the beginning of the project, many government officials, including President Bush, actually opposed the volunteers and likened them to vigilantes. The Border Patrol got its nose out of joint also, perhaps because they did not like someone else doing their job. But California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger called it right the first time when he praised the volunteers on a radio talk show interview. "The whole system is set up to really invite people to come in here illegally, and that has to stop," "Look, they've cut down the crossing of illegal immigrants by a huge percentage," Schwarzenegger said.

Closing the border to illegal aliens is a good thing. "People who say it's racist to want secure borders are insulting the intelligence of the American people, and such charges betray an empty arsenal of serious arguments," said Thomas G. Tancredo, (R) who is chairman of the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus. "No wonder the immigration reform movement is gaining on every front."

Hopefully with the success of this highly controversial program, the government will see just exactly what the people want, and they will start taking some action in that direction. There are already plans to start similar programs in all the states that border Mexico and maybe even some areas of the Canadian border. The success of this project is a clear indicator that peaceful demonstrations and ordinary citizens getting involved can be a very positive thing.