By ELIZABETH WHITE
Associated Press Writer
SAN ANTONIO- Hundreds of anti-immigrant volunteers plan to keep watch over the area of the Texas-Mexico border around Laredo beginning Sept. 11, and organizers said they’ll offer extra sets of eyes in the U.S. Border Patrol’s effort to stop illegal immigration.
The eight-week “Operation Sovereignty” - which begins on the fifth anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks and ends on Election Day, Nov. 7 - is meant to “bring national awareness to the illegal alien invasion crisis,” said Minuteman Project founder Jim Gilchrist.
Gilchrist, who said he supports legal immigration, said the opening and closing days of the operation are significant because they are a “constant reminder right up to the day as to who not to vote for.”
Private property owners in the Laredo area have been open to Minuteman patrols on their land, said Gilchrist, who declined to give specific locations because of potential retribution.
Texas Minuteman president Shannon McGauley said he anticipates anywhere from 800 to 2,000 people showing up. The American Border Patrol of Arizona, another volunteer group, also will participate, Gilchrist said.
The Minuteman Project is different from the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, led by Chris Simcox, which also patrols the border and reports illegal immigrants to authorities.
Per the group’s “policy of passive activity,” McGauley said the volunteers will strictly report illegal immigrant sightings to Border Patrol and will not approach border crossers or interfere with officers.
“You have to earn somebody’s respect and trust,” McGauley said of the Border Patrol. “Once they see we conduct ourselves as we say we do, they’ll be able to say these guys are just offering an extra set of eyes.”
Reynaldo Garza, acting chief patrol agent for the Laredo border sector, said Minuteman patrols have helped in immigrant arrests in the past. He added that the most important communication with the Border Patrol is that “we know where they are, and they know where we are.”
“We depend on them to pass information on to us, and that’s what the Minutemen will be doing,” Garza said.
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