Volunteers to patrol border
March 31, 2005
BY ARTHUR H. ROTSTEIN
TOMBSTONE, Ariz. -- Hundreds of volunteers, some armed, are expected to take up positions along the U.S.-Mexican border Friday and begin patrolling for illegal immigrants.
Organizers of the Minuteman Project said the civilian volunteers, many of whom were recruited over the Internet, will meet first for a rally in this onetime silver mining town, then fan out across 23 miles of the San Pedro Valley to watch the border for a month and report sightings of illegal activity to Border Patrol agents.
Jim Gilchrist, a retired accountant from Aliso Viejo, Calif., who organized the project, said that some volunteers will carry handguns, which is allowed under Arizona law, but are being instructed to avoid confrontation, even if shot at.
Still, law enforcement officials and human rights advocates are worried about the potential for bloodshed.
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