April represents the highest period of illegal immigration from Mexico to the United States. This year, when the Bush administration was unwilling to fund more Border Patrol officers, citizens nationwide took it upon themselves to regulate. Taking the name “the Minutemen,” about 1,000 volunteers settled down last month to watch the line between Mexico and Arizona and inform the U.S. Border Patrol of any illegal activity.
It gives new meaning to the phrase “neighborhood watch.”
Not surprisingly, a great number of groups are up in arms over the Minuteman Project, and rightly so. In a society that claims to work toward acceptance of diversity, it is highly xenophobic that everyday citizens, often armed, are in charge of regulating the flow of Mexican immigrants. There is a reason why police officers must undergo schooling, not to mention training in ethics, before they are allowed to enforce laws.
Upon considering the ever-present racial profiling problem, it seems apparent that if officers of the law cannot always make ethical choices based on skin color, there is no way civilians can be expected to treat illegal immigrants fairly. The Minutemen patrol the border, but who patrols the Minutemen? In
the absence of a news camera following
every Minuteman, there is no way to be
sure immigrants are not stripped of their
dignity or safety.
A camera was certainly watching San Diego Minuteman Bryan Barton. Barton has been accused of civil rights violations after momentarily detaining an illegal immigrant, then forcing him to be videotaped while wearing a shirt reading “Barton caught me crossing the border and all I got was this lousy T-shirt.”
Public officials have taken an interesting stand on the issue of Minutemen. Most Arizona border patrol officers are uncomfortable with the idea, saying that Minutemen have done more harm than good by repeatedly
tripping sensitivity wires meant to track
illegal immigrants. Because of them, the
border patrol wasted time and resources
following false leads.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has alienated many by standing in favor of the Minutemen, an ironic stance considering that he is an immigrant himself, as well as governor of a state with a large population of immigrants, legal and otherwise.
Although April has ended, the Minuteman Project is far from over. Organizers have called the project a success and are now
discussing taking their volunteer force to
other Mexico border states and the
Canadian border.
It is not the job of everyday citizens to exercise legal, armed authority over others. That system is called anarchy. Border patrol officers are employed and trained to do a certain job; if they are unable to fulfill this job, the government should consider increased
funding or training. Letting civilians
armed with weapons and xenophobia
patrol the Mexican border is not the answer to
illegal immigration.

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