Schwarzenegger's praise draws border volunteers
California group's Minuteman-like project flooded with inquiries after
governor's OK
Posted: April 30, 2005
6:55 p.m. Eastern
2005 WorldNetDaily.com
A Southern California anti-illegal-immigration group is reporting a
surge of volunteers for its August project along the state's border
with Mexico following Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's recent endorsement
of the Minutemen.
As WorldNetDaily reported, last Thursday California's governor told
Los Angeles radio listeners he thought the Minuteman Project had
provided a service.
"I think they have done a terrific job, and they have cut down the
crossing of illegal immigrants by a huge percentage, so it just shows
that it works when you go and make an effort and when you work hard.
.... It's a shame the private citizen has to go in there and secure our
borders," he said.
Despite a firestorm of criticism, Schwarzenegger has stood by his
comments, telling a news conference, yesterday: "I think the most
important thing to note is I am a champion of immigrants. I promote
immigration. I am an immigrant myself. I think it's extremely
important that we do it in a legal way."
"[The federal government's] job is to secure the borders and they have
not done their job," Schwarzenegger continued. "And when the
government – the state or the country – doesn't do its job, then the
private citizens go out and it's like a neighborhood patrol."
Andy Ramierez, head of Friends of the Border Patrol (FBP), a
Chino-based group that opposes illegal immigration and advocates for
the Border Patrol, agrees. Ten days ago, his group announced its
intent to organize an August border watch project modeled after the
Minutemen that would be carried out by volunteers along California's
border with Mexico.
Following the governor's praise of armed volunteers on the Arizona
border, Ramierez says he's been flooded with calls for the FBP Border
Watch project.
"I don't know if it's a direct result of what the governor said, but
I'll tell you what, we've sure had a lot of calls today," Ramirez
tells the San Diego Union-Tribune. "We're getting a lot of
volunteers."
Assemblyman Dave Jones, D-Sacramento, who worked on border issues
under former Attorney General Janet Reno, warns that Schwarzenegger's
praise of citizen action ignores the dangers. Four Border Patrol
agents have been killed along the U.S.-Mexico border since 2003.
"The border between California and Mexico is not a neighborhood, he
says. "It is a border between two nations. It's a border where there
is a significant amount of illegal activity. There are people running
around with guns."
"I'd ask him to go down there and talk to Border Patrol agents about
what they're facing before he suggests that untrained, unprofessional
volunteers should be roaming around that area."
Unlike in Arizona, Ramirez tells the San Francisco Chronicle, the
California project will use unarmed volunteers. Already, 400 – mostly
former law enforcement and retired military personnel – have indicated
an interest in participating. Ramierez will offer classroom training
in San Diego for prospective volunteers in June.
"We're encouraged by (Schwarzenegger's comments), and I would be more
than willing to talk to him more about this," Ramirez said.
.
|
