Road to Reform
How do Minutemen figure into immigration debate?

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On the lookout

Ross and Hartley plot out their area of surveillance on the morning of April 16, searching for a place where they could sit comfortably while being able to see immigrants approaching from a good distance.

They park their pick-up trucks facing north, and set up their chairs facing south. With a case of water behind them, the two muse about politics and scan the horizon with their binoculars.

A call comes over their radio. It’s a team of Minutemen down the road who has spotted a group of immigrants hiding in the desert brush.

A single Border Patrol agent arrives and searches the area. He emerges from the brush with seven illegal immigrants in tow. The migrants walk with their hands crossed on their heads, but without handcuffs.

“We’re not here to seal the border. That’s not our purpose,” Minuteman Bob Price says. “We’re here to demonstrate that America does have a choice. It can be sealed up.”

The seven illegal immigrants, in custody thanks to the Minutemen, sit on the side of a dirt road waiting for another Border Patrol agent to show up.

Some of the immigrants, mostly in their 20s and 30s, crack jokes and smile.

But one young man breaks down in tears.

“¡Ánimo, ánimo!” his comrade exhorts, calling on him to keep up his spirits. He gives him a hearty pat on the back.

When the Border Patrol agent asks the seven if they’d be able to walk the 300 or so yards to the detention vehicle, one immigrant quips, “Haven’t we walked far enough? We’re too tired.”

The others laugh. But none try to escape.

“I don’t mind if they come and work. There’s plenty of jobs,” says Steve Wisniewski, the leader of the civilian patrol that morning. “They just need to come legally.”

When the Border Patrol arrives at the scene, two men accompanying the seven illegal immigrants run north. Wisniewski speculates that the two are coyotes — a name given to those who smuggle immigrants across the desert for thousands of dollars.

The Minutemen also believe the group of immigrants were part of a larger group spotted the night before.

Effect on farmers

The night before, April 15, rancher John King’s family treats the Minutemen volunteers to dinner. The Kings raise cattle and invite the Minutemen to stay on their property for safety.

“We appreciate them being here,” says Micaela McGibbon, John King’s daughter. “We have to keep at least one person here to protect the house from illegals.”

The King family has endured several break-ins, has had guns and money stolen and regularly finds trash on their ranches, McGibbon says. She fears the cattle might ingest the trash and die.

McGibbon also notes that she feels more comfortable with the Minutemen around because she and her daughter can horseback ride under their protection.

“I don’t care how nice a person you were when you crossed the border, you’re reduced to an animal state,” she says.

The family has also come across dead bodies on the property.

“People think this doesn’t happen every day, but it does,” McGibbon says. She’d like to see a guest worker program and a secure border.

“We should be protected by our nation,” McGibbon says, her daughter in her arms. “We’re citizens. We pay taxes.”

After dinner, Rosemary Hackney from Tennessee prepares for the night patrol.

“It’s not a matter of race,” she says. “It’s a matter of our sovereignty as a nation.”

Before becoming a member, prospective Minutemen must go through a background check and are asked a series of questions. If the organization detects any sign of racism, they reject the applicant.

Out on patrol, David Porter and Jim Carter of Tennessee watch for immigrants as the sun dips behind the Quinlan Mountains. Armed, they stand on either side of a folding chair with flower designs on its cushions.

Carter wants to know the Catholic Church’s position on immigration before he answers any questions.

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