Asking them to defend our open border is like asking a carpenter to drive nails and saw wood with his bare hands.
Posted on 04/21/2005 4:45:24 AM PDT by Spiff
Border agents approve of 'Minutemen'
Posted: April 21, 2005
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
Through the years politicians, lawyers and advocacy groups have overseen the implementation of policies that grant illegal aliens more rights to sneak into the country than rights given to Border Patrol agents charged with keeping them out. Needless to say, that has led to a level of frustration, anger and resentment within BP ranks that is virtually unparalleled in terms of federal service.
This month, however, a fortunate few of them have been given a temporary reprieve, and receiving much-needed assistance to do the jobs they were trained and hired to do. Agents posted along a portion of the Arizona-Mexico border near Naco have witnessed the deployment of dozens of civilian volunteers, whose April 1-30 mission is to help staunch the flow of illegal aliens from south of the border.
The volunteers are quick to note they're not there because the Border Patrol can't do it's job. They know, for example, that there isn't anyone – except maybe the Coast Guard and the Marine Corps – who can do as much with so few and so little.
No, the volunteers came because they know how serious the illegal immigration problem has become. And they know the Border Patrol can use the help.
In case you haven't heard, this little operation is called the "Minuteman Project" and its organizers – James Gilchrist and Chris Simcox – say the Arizona effort is just the beginning. They want to expand their horizons to include protests, rallies and more border deployments, all in an effort to assist the Border Patrol and bring attention to the problem of porous borders – which is unacceptable in a time of terrorism.
If you have heard of this group, chances are it has been in a negative context. Unfortunately the card-carrying American Civil Liberties Union types, biased media editorialists and immigrant "rights" groups have put forth the nothing these volunteers are little more than bigoted vigilantes armed to the teeth, waiting to blast every border jumper they see into Kingdom Come.
The truth is much stranger than the fiction, however, and none of those accusations are true. But don't believe me. U.S. Border Patrol agents themselves are fawning in their praise of these individuals and the effort they are putting forth.
In interviews, agents decry the "official" line from bosses in D.C., which has generally been negative, as inaccurate. They say they've not encountered any problems from the Minutemen, and that the volunteers are helping them thwart illegal incursions, at least in the areas they are present.
Finally, they say they appreciate the help.
"You know, it is only the brass and D.C. that feel the Minutemen are not wanted," one Border Patrol agent told me. "I reached out with a lot of the line agents and they all love them."
Another says most colleagues agree the Minutemen are doing good work. Noting agents "appreciate what they are trying to accomplish," he added that "agents on the line ... are Americans who want to secure the sovereignty of the United States, our language and culture.
"We Border Patrol agents may work for the U.S. government, but we are Americans first – fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and friends – members of the community, then we are citizens of the United States, then we are federal employees," the agent continued.
Finally, Border Patrol union website Local 2544, encompassing the Tucson, Ariz. area – a hotbed of illegal immigration activity – proudly and publicly stated:
We have not had one single complaint from a rank-and-file agent in this sector about the Minutemen. Every report we've received indicates these people are very supportive of the rank-and-file agents, they're courteous, many of them are retired firefighters, cops and other professionals, and they're not causing us any problems whatsoever.
Yet this support is being criticized and hijacked, mostly by people who ought to know better – and would, if they spent any time in the shoes of a Border Patrol agent or a Minuteman volunteer.
The real shame is not so much that these volunteers are giving up their own time and money to help defend our borders. It's not so much that the effort highlights the government's hypocrisy in pledging to protect our borders while giving the professionals charged with doing it few legal and practical tools with which to complete their mission.
No, the real shame is that there are Americans finding fault with the effort.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jon E. Dougherty is the author of "Illegals: The Imminent Threat Posed by Our Unsecured U.S.-Mexico Border."
"We have not had one single complaint from a rank-and-file agent in this sector about the Minutemen. Every report we've received indicates these people are very supportive of the rank-and-file agents, they're courteous, many of them are retired firefighters, cops and other professionals, and they're not causing us any problems whatsoever."
The Minute Men are hero's.
The rank and file do, for sure.
Their bosses, otoh, have essentially been holding to the President's ridiculous "vigilante" party line.
Can we donate to their cause?
you betcha!
http://www.minutemanproject.com
Immigrants DO have rights; however, those rights are dependent upon said immigrant applying for citizenship (at least, they OUGHT to be).
Ping the pingers
Indeed they do. Food, Water and a ticket back to the other
side of the boarder. Anything more than that is pure crap.
Lookee what Spiffy found!
=====================================
"We Border Patrol agents may work for the U.S. government, but we are Americans first – fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and friends – members of the community, then we are citizens of the United States, then we are federal employees," the agent continued.
Finally, Border Patrol union website Local 2544, encompassing the Tucson, Ariz. area – a hotbed of illegal immigration activity – proudly and publicly stated:
We have not had one single complaint from a rank-and-file agent in this sector about the Minutemen. Every report we've received indicates these people are very supportive of the rank-and-file agents, they're courteous, many of them are retired firefighters, cops and other professionals, and they're not causing us any problems whatsoever.
========================================
In case you haven't heard, this little operation is called the "Minuteman Project" and its organizers – James Gilchrist and Chris Simcox – say the Arizona effort is just the beginning. They want to expand their horizons to include protests, rallies and more border deployments, all in an effort to assist the Border Patrol and bring attention to the problem of porous borders – which is unacceptable in a time of terrorism.
In my mind, the really important part of this political tug of war is that no one believes the "authorities." Despite the relentless war being waged against the Minutemen, the American population is not buying it. I wonder why we have not seen a poll on how the public views the Minutemen? Does any one believe some liberal group hasn't done one? The reason is obvious. The polls must show overwhelming support for them!
The polls are coming. They will be out in offiical print in November 2006.
Thanks. I just donated.
>>In interviews, agents decry the "official" line from bosses in D.C., which has generally been negative, as inaccurate. <<<
nothing new there. this could be said for every dang fed agency there is. (and how many ARE there now?)
the DC suits think the American Citizen is the enemy, and they seem to have huge ego problems, and they are untouchable. presidents come and go - and these people stay - no matter what. it's ridiculous. i wish we could elect just one man who would have the backbone to really clean up Washington DC and purge these agencies.
We want to make it clear because we've had a lot of questions about this.....we have not had one single complaint from a rank-and-file agent in this Sector about the Minutemen. Every report we've received indicates these people are very supportive of the rank-and-file agents, they're courteous, many of them are retired firefighters, cops, and other professionals, and they're not causing us any problems whatsoever. Reports of them causing "ground sensors" to go off are exaggerated because most of those are being set off by the ACLU sneaking around trying to find the Minutemen doing something wrong. - Border Patrol Agents
We've been over this and you're obtuse posts are growing tiresome.
Border Patrol management is telling LIES. Border Patrol agents are supportive of the Minuteman Project and don't see them as a "hindrance".
i wanted to ask you guys about the sidebar poll on FR:
>>>Should the border patrol be
privatized and manned by an
all volunteer force?<<<
what the ???
who thought that question up... and why?
Heck, I even voted No.
LOL
how else CAN you vote? we are already paying for border patrol...
it's like a business man who hires employees and then works nights and weekends to do their job - but keeps paying the employees. who in their right mind would do that?
but watch the results of this "POLL" to be used to show people are against the MMP project.... mark my words.
and another thing.... since when is "privatized" and "volunteer" the same thing?
bid the job out - privatize it. fine. but PAY them.
good grief.
I won't even vote since the questions are so loaded.
The only explaination I can think of is that they were made up to show that the Minutemen are totally opposed to.
The Homeland Security department is so loaded with nitwits the entire thing should be eliminated.
They haven't accomplished one thing to make this country safer, they only spend billions making the mindless feel better.
I'll accept management's version.
Should the US deputize private citizens to help secure our borders?
(86%) Yes(14%) No
Now, there's a poll that deserves to be FReeped.
good fer you! LOL
Be Ever Vigilant!
Minutemen ~ Bump!
i haven't voted either - for the same reason.
that poll makes much more sense Spiff and is actually useful for measuring public opinion on a specific question.
A story recently published in several South Texas newspapers asserts that the National Border Patrol Council believes that border security in the Rio Grande Valley could be compromised as a result of "civilian patrols of the international border in Arizona." This is a distortion of the NBPC's position. While the NBPC firmly believes that border security in Texas, New Mexico, and California will be compromised as a result of the Administration's decision to fund only 210 new positions instead of the 2,000 called for in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, as well as the shifting of resources from those states to Arizona, it in no way blames the Minuteman Project or any other civilian groups for this under funding and/or imbalance of resources. The Bush Administration and its bureaucrats are solely responsible for the decision to imbalance the Border Patrol's resources. For the moment, the Administration is also solely to blame for the under funding of the Border Patrol, but if the Congress of the United States fails to override the Administration's funding request, it will share the blame for that matter.I've talked to Border Patrol Agents myself. I have several friends who are agents. I've also seen them out there where the Minuteman Project is operating. I can tell you that the agents are supportive. Management is being terribly embarassed by this event and they're just covering their asses with their dishonest statements and rhetoric. You can trust eyes on the ground or you can trust management goofups that want to protect their careers.
Anyone can go HERE to read of a 13-year Border Patrol veteran who is quitting because of intolerable problems with management.
Here's an excerpt:
On the Border Patrol; during my tenure with this agency, I watched the Border Patrol mature into something it should not be: one of the most inefficient and misleading agencies in the history of government. The merger into the Department of Homeland Security only exasperated previously existing problems under the legacy Immigration and Naturalization Service. Subsequently, I believe this agency, as a government organization and employer, is beyond redemption. My thesis is further supported by the emerging trend of promoting managers to high-level positions. Managers who have never conducted a vehicle stop, confronted more than one illegal alien at a time, and have little more than three years as an agent. For many of them their claim to reputation consists of nothing more than cabinet-making or fence crew details, hardly equipping an individual for policy-making or policy-executing leadership obligations. Yet, they are increasingly placed into these positions because they do not know how to challenge their superiors which perpetuates the embedded organizational cycle of incompetence. Although there are some good managers, mainly remnants of legacy Border Patrol, they are retiring at a rapid rate. How can we possibly expect this agency or you as an agent of the government tasked to protect the American people, to function in the context of its mission with leaders who have technically never performed the job of Border Patrol Agent? Simply put, you cannot; therefore, you do not; and, you never will. For your sanity, you need to acknowledge that fact and either dig in or move on.
These inept managers are more dangerous to the Agent on the ground than any group of the criminal invaders. And that mismanagement has permitted this invasion to continue unabated and likely has lead to the entrance of at least one terror cell who is at this very moment planning an attack against the U.S.
Which poll are you going to believe? PHXNews or Free Republic?
>>The Homeland Security department is so loaded with nitwits the entire thing should be eliminated.
They haven't accomplished one thing to make this country safer, they only spend billions making the mindless feel better.<<
no lie. this is one of the things that just fries me about this administration - the huge fed agency expansion.
look at this link to all the dang agencies and tell me they are not wasting tax payers $ like it's going out of style
http://www.lib.lsu.edu/gov/tree
As for the agent with a grouse, you should focus on the big picture of high turnover rate and the high drop-out rate during training.
Asking them to defend our open border is like asking a carpenter to drive nails and saw wood with his bare hands.
it's not a question of believing the poll or not. it's a matter of the poll question. the FR poll is useless the way it is phrased. since when is "privatized" and "volunteer" the same thing?
and Spiff's lying about his own experiences?
go ahead and believe the fat reared, soft handed, limp wristed, "managment". after all, sitting on their butts behind their desks in some office really puts them "in the know" compared to the boots on the ground guys and MM who are ON the border.
and btw - just because someone belongs to a union doesn't make them evil or liers. can you scab work for the gvt agencies? i doubt it. both my brothers belong to the Operators Union and both voted for Bush - and they are honest, hard working guys.
Again, you're being purposely obtuse.
The Free Republic poll was terribly worded. The PHXNews poll made far more sense.
It amazes me that anyone even participates in a poll such as PHXNews. If the freepers don't flood it, DU will.
For starters, INS and BP heads should be fired and blocked from holding any .gov jobs.
Time to clean house.
Where did you dig up this left wing rag?
"They are out there destroying evidence. Things we collect, that's all evidence," Zortman said."
Yeah Zortman. Too bad you didn't collect any illegals.
Well of course you do. That's the kind of nonsense we expect from FR's FOQNA loon fringe of which you are a proud member.
Anything to discredit the MMP, right Ben?
Title of this thread:
Border agents approve of 'Minutemen'
Next he'll try to bring up that incident that got us into World War II, when the German bombed Pearl Harbor.
I'm sure liberals are eager to buy anything negative about them hook, line, and sinker.
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