A Big Amen For the Minutemen - Capitol Hill Coffee House

President Bush calls them “vigilantes” – I call them heroes…

They’re the Minutemen, volunteers who are actively watching the Arizona border for illegal crossings into our nation from Mexico. The idea is to call nationwide attention to a huge problem, one that is impacting not only our economy but our own security as well.

With over 16,000 illegals entering our country on a weekly basis, America needs a wake-up call. In purely economic terms, the drain on our resources amounts to more than $71/2 billion in education, $4 billion in healthcare, not to mention another billion in increased costs to our federal prisons, annually. It is plain to see that economic costs alone should be a source of alarm for taxpayers.

Even more distressing is the fact that when staggering numbers of people are entering the country illegally, with no way of knowing who they are, nor for tracking their movements, the potential for terrorists of any stripe to enter and carry out their deadly plots here on our own soil increases dramatically. After 9/11, we created the Department of Homeland Security, we passed the Patriot Act (which seems to mainly allow authorities to pursue American citizens in ways not allowed by the US Constitution), and we harass little old blue-haired ladies at the airports rather than zeroing in on the demographics that are the prime source of terrorist activity (in order not to offend those who commit terrorist acts, evidently).

Regardless of how ill conceived some of these measures have been, they were at least touted as measures that would keep us more secure. Now if it is the intent of the federal government to keep us more secure, why are they so lackadaisical where securing the border is concerned? The President, and too many lawmakers want to grant amnesty to all these illegals. Oh, they don’t call it amnesty, preferring to use euphemistic terms such as “work programs”, but they know they need to market this cockamamie notion as something other than what it really is, otherwise no one will buy it. It’s why Bush calls the Minutemen “vigilantes” – because describing their mission accurately, as sentries who monitor the border and report back on what is happening, will not exactly allow him to continue camouflaging his amnesty idea as something else.

Yesterday, the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus (CIRC), met with the Minutemen, and at least some of our representatives recognize the service these patriots are performing. A couple of comments bear repeating here – from Texas congressman Lamar Smith, who said,“When the federal government fails to do its job, we should not be surprised when law abiding citizens want to protect their property and borders”, and Georgia congressman Tom Price, who said, “The Minutemen truly are the nation’s most successful neighborhood watch program”.

Colorado congressman Tom Tancredo, who chairs CIRC, added this,“I would like to thank the Minutemen on behalf of the millions of Americans who can’t be here with you today. You have the courage to say to the government of the United States, ‘Do your duty! Protect our borders! Protect our communities! Protect our families! Protect our jobs!’ You are good citizens who ask only that our laws be enforced. When did that become such a radical idea?”

Indeed.

America is waking up to what is going on with our borders, and no amount of whitewashing from Mr. Bush, nor any of his spokesmen will halt that awakening. Because of that, a big tip of the hat needs to go to Tom Tancredo, and the other representatives with the courage to speak the truth about immigration. But most of all, a well deserved, and very big Amen, to the Minutemen!

Chip McLean

4/28/2005

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