Posted on 08/17/2006 1:18:46 AM PDT by Anti-Bubba182
PHOENIX (Reuters) - More than a year after their first stakeouts on the U.S.-Mexico border, Minuteman civilian patrol volunteers are divided and questions are being raised about whether their movement's influence is on the wane.
The Minutemen leaped into the media spotlight in April 2005 when its force of housewives, office workers and veterans camped out in lawn chairs in southern Arizona to spot illegal immigrants crossing from Mexico.
Sixteen months later, the founders of the movement have split acrimoniously, and questions swirl over how a breakaway group spent a reported $1.6 million in donations.
Dubbed vigilantes by President Bush and migrant hunters by Mexico, the activists seek to highlight what they say is the federal government's failure to provide security along the 2,000-mile (3,200-km) border and end illegal immigration.
The founder of the original Minuteman Project, Jim Gilchrist, 57, a retired accountant from California, is no longer speaking to his former ally Chris Simcox, with whom he planned the first patrols in Arizona.
Meanwhile, Simcox, an ex-teacher and newspaper publisher who leads the separate, Arizona-based Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, faces calls from some former members for a full audit of all donations made to his group.
They complained last month that the corps, a private corporation, had not published financial statements setting out how donations intended to buy equipment were spent, although Simcox vigorously denied any impropriety.
"These are just disgruntled individuals who are no longer with our organization who for some personal reason would like to tarnish our image," Simcox, 45, told Reuters in a telephone interview.
"We have hired accountants and auditors ... to handle all the money, and we're in fine shape," he said.
Simcox added that all questions about the use of donations would be settled in November, when the group posts its tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service.
IS MESSAGE WEARING THIN?
The movement has never counted more than a few thousand volunteers, but analysts say it has proved influential in setting a national agenda on border security and immigration enforcement.
Since the patrols began, Bush has sent 6,200 National Guard troops to help secure the border, and Congress has approved funds to recruit thousands more Border Patrol agents.
But in recent weeks, media attention has focused more on the group's woes than on the pro-enforcement message it seeks to push.
In July the Washington Times questioned their financial accounts. Then last week the Arizona Republic newspaper weighed in, publishing details of their feud and declaring that the "honeymoon is over for the Minutemen."
While the two leaders are pushing on with separate activities -- Simcox is building a border wall on private ranchland in Arizona, and Gilchrist plans a stakeout near Laredo, Texas, starting next month -- critics warn that their trusted formula for grabbing headlines may be wearing thin.
"They have been very good at maintaining the media's attention, but I think things are starting to turn for them," said Ray Borane, the mayor of Douglas, Arizona, near where they held their first patrols. "They are running out of tricks in their bag."
Lies? Such as?
Bull. They've done a great job of raising awareness of the troubles on the border, the damage the crossing illegals do and the crimes they commit, and the cost of taking care of these people.
They have no authority to DO anything directly to physically stop illegals from entering, but they do report them and they do have a significant influence on public awareness. That's more than I can say about their critics such as yourself.
......and it's not the first time.
The world is crumbling down around Simcox.
Jameison, you should ping the person your talking about.
Naturally. It's not in their best interest.
which is it -- are they a private corporation (for-profit) or are they a non-profit corporation whose receipts are federal tax exempt... they seemed to have claimed both, whichever is convenient. if they are a non-profit, federal tax exempt, they need to make their records available on demand. if they're a private corporation without tax exempt status, they need to be licensed by the state in which they operate. if you ask me, they are on real thin ice -- and it only makes the rest of us look bad when it blows up.
LOL! Good one! :>
I think private.....because they were saying something on O'Reilly last night about the donations not being tax-deductible.
Anyway, I think they are doing us a service and deserve to not have conservatives who favor immigration control go off half-cocked listening to Reuters and so on stir the pot until they publics their audit.
which will be when.... they have made promises on this on which they have not delivered... the ball is in their court. if former allies are raising questions, then they must expect those questions to continue until they themselves come up with the answers.
Simcox said November. Three months from now. Big deal.
And before that he said October 2005 and April of 2006 so, yeah: IT'S A BIG DEAL.
Well people cannot hide their heads in the sand about this much longer. This is gaining steam and fast I think. I suspect that many news organizations are coming here and to other conservative places to find out what is happening. Of course that story will never be know in print.
Then, there is the wee point that Simcox has been saying that donations to the MCDC is tax deductible, but they aren't, and then back tracking on that. Add to that, that he claimed that he used donation money to pay for equipment that he never bought, because they were DONATED, and taking many pictures, at different angles, of equipment, trying to pass them off as a lot MORE equipment.
Of course there is also his latest statements to O'Reilly and in print, that he's using the top companies for everything. The caging company is NOT even licensed in Texas, is under subpoena, the owner is hiding from the police, and is also in trouble with the IRS.
There's a lot more............go read the older threads about this.
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