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TOMBSTONE - The U.S. government has failed in controlling the border with Mexico and in April a group of volunteers will highlight the federal fiasco by doing the job through aerial and ground surveillance, said an organizer of the monthlong event.
Jim Gilchrist, who heads the Minuteman Project, and about 20 supporters met Friday night to talk about plans. He's currently recruiting volunteers for the operation through a Web site.
During the meeting, Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever said that while he believes in keeping the laxness of the federal government's border and immigration policies in the spotlight, whatever the group does in April and before the main program begins must not stray outside the law.
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Based on the initial information he has gathered, Dever said it appears to him the Minuteman Project appears "to be pretty reasonable."
But, the sheriff said, the jury is still out as to what could happen in which the situation could sour.
San Pedro Valley is target
"The San Pedro Valley is the target area (for the project). The area has the highest infiltration in the country," Gilchrist said.
Plans for the April event will include a headquarters with a communications center. During daylight hours, the airborne surveillance assets will call back. At night, the ground observation posts will do the same thing.
The information passed to the communications center will be given to the U.S. Border Patrol. Gilchrist said his group will monitor the agents' reaction.
He hopes to meet with representatives of federal agencies to talk about what the project entails.
So far, eight pilots have committed to be part of the program, Gilchrist said.
Richard Humphries, an area resident and pilot, said he has been asked to head up the Minuteman Project Air Force. He is recruiting more pilots and their planes.
Gilchrist said some volunteers will come to the area in RVs and camp out in the area, while others may stay in area hotels and motels.
"What we are looking for is reasonable people," he said.
Some of those Gilchrist hopes to recruit are those with law enforcement or military backgrounds. As for the latter he is hoping for GIs with reconnaissance or military intelligence backgrounds.
Law enforcement and military people can handle stress involved with watching and waiting, he said.
While some critics may say the Minuteman Project is a doomsday program, Gilchrist disagrees.
"What we are hoping for is national media attention that will force attention on the federal government's failure," he said. "We will operate within the laws of Arizona to support enforcement of U.S. immigration laws."
Laws must be obeyed
Dever said that as the group prepares its plans, it has to take into consideration private property owners rights, especially those who have land that abuts the border.
With slightly more than 83 miles of border in the county, of which 30 plus miles is private property, he said some of the land owners may not want those associated with the Minuteman Project on their land.
"Most of these ranchers are tired of their land being used as playgrounds," Dever said, adding they don't like illegal immigrants, individuals who seek to help and even law enforcement coming on to their property.
He also gave an additional word of caution about challenging people who may appear not to be U.S. citizens and who are.
"You can expect to be challenged right back," the sheriff said.
The law must be obeyed, he said. Straying outside of it will mean Dever and his department will come down on the side of the law if it means holding those involved in the Minuteman Project or their opponents accountable.
In Cochise County, the border and immigration issues are volatile, he added.
The people in Cochise County have been fighting for better federal involvement along the border.
"I've been fighting this battle for years. The battle is to influence the policy makers and decision-makers. It's been very trying," Dever said.
There is frustration because illegal activities cross the border and continue violation of America's sovereignty, the sheriff said.
"I hope everyone's heart is true," Dever said of those to be involved in the Minuteman Project's operation in April. He expects the volunteers "to honor, obey and sustain the law."
Confrontations not wanted
Gilchrist said there are no plans to become confrontational with any law enforcement group or others who disagree with the operation's premise.
The reason for this weekend's trip to the area was to make an assessment in developing plans that will not lead to problems, Gilchrist said after Dever spoke and left.
As much as possible, the project will run like a military operation without the use of any force, he said.
A former Marine who served in Vietnam and was wounded, Gilchrist went on to college, got a degree in journalism, worked for newspapers for a couple of years and went back to university getting a master's degree and recently retired as a certified public accountant in California. His home is in Aliso Viejo, Calif., about 60 miles north of San Diego.
As of Friday night, 204 volunteers from 33 states have signed up to be part of the April project.
"They are from San Diego to Boston and from Miami (Florida) to Portland, Ore.," Gilchrist said.
It's not just a matter of saying a person wants to come. Those interested in volunteering are asked to fill out a resumé on his Web site. Gilchrist said resumés are reviewed, and some people have been asked to not participate.
In one case, three people from Ranch Rescue, a militia group that gained notoriety in Arizona and elsewhere, wanted to take part while wearing their uniforms. They declined when they were told they could be in the project but only under their state's flag, Gilchrist said.
The state flags are the only things that will be allowed, and only under those colors can volunteers participate, he said.
Gilchrist's Web site has the image of Uncle Sam saying "The U.S. Wants You!" It states that the Minuteman Project is seeking volunteers to spend up to 30 days along the Arizona border as part of a blocking force against entry into the United States.
"I invite you to join me in Tombstone, Ariz., from April 1-30, 2005, to protect our country from a 40-year-long invasion across our southern border with Mexico," Gilchrist says on his Web site.
Part of the reason for coming to Arizona is to help Chris Simcox, publisher of the Tombstone Tumbleweed, and the Civil Homeland Defense he heads. Gilchrist said Simcox has been protecting the border with a handful of "patriotic volunteers."
"It is time we provided him with reinforcements," he said.
He said he knows the Minuteman Project will face opponents who will not want him and other volunteers to patrol the border.
The reason the project is named Minuteman is to remind U.S. citizens of those men in the 1700s who responded to danger and became the first line of defense in the Revolutionary War, Gilchrist said.
Project is unacceptable
The Rev. Tom Buechele, rector of St. John's Episcopal Church in Bisbee and the border missionary for the Arizona Episcopal Diocese, said he would prefer that people who support the Minuteman Project "stay home."
Buechele said it is the federal government's job to control the border. He said people like those involved in the planned Minuteman Project need to lobby the U.S. government, not come to Arizona and do the federal government's job.
"I'm absolutely not in favor of them (Minuteman Project volunteers) coming here," he said.
There is too much stress along the border, especially with those who live with the problems every day, Buechele said.
A change in current policies is needed, and this could come by finally approving a new guest worker program, he said.
"We don't need to shut down the border," Buechele said.
Many want border solutions
State Rep. Jonathan Paton, a Republican who represents District 30 that includes parts of Cochise, Santa Cruz and Pima counties, said he can understand the frustration involving border issues.
Although he said he does not know about the Minuteman Project, he sees the attempt by others in the country to reach out and help in Cochise County as a reaction to the failed federal policies.
Saying that every day he calls 10 residents in the district, Paton remarked that three or four of the 10 he talks to every day express concerns about border and immigration policies.
Just before the state Legislature's session began, he had more than 100 e-mails, most of them demanding he and other legislators do something about Arizona's border problems.
Gilchrist said the level of disappointment by Cochise County residents regarding the border is not new.
In the legislative session, he and Republican state Sen. Tim Bee, who also represents District 30, are working on bills to introduce in both chambers to address some of the problems.
There is no law that will allow county prosecutors to try smugglers of illegal immigrants, Paton said. There also isn't a way for Arizona to prosecute those who bring in people to do what amounts as slave labor or force them into prostitution, which is happening.
The problem is that the U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona only prosecutes high visibility cases, which means the state has to be able to do the job the federal government is failing to do, he said.
The lack of federal response leads people in the border areas to cry out for help and for volunteers from groups such as the Minuteman Project to respond, Patron said.
"There is a lot of frustration," he added.
HERALD/REVIEW senior reporter Bill Hess can be reached at 515-4615 or by e-mail at bill.hess@svherald.com.
Ezai I. Martinez wrote on Jun 24, 2009 7:58 PM: