Minute Men! Bored rednecks or protectors of our borders?

Passerby:

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't vigiliantism illegal? Are they duely deputised officers of the Law? If no, then they are breaking the law, just as suredly as those immigrants are - only one is traditionally a violent crime and the other isn't.
That said though, people should have the right to defend themself's, I am just wondering if the mexicans decided to protect themself's whether there would be more of an outrage.
WHat is the deal? Just too much land to cover by real law officers, or no money or a combination of the two? Or is it that deep down the politicians simply don't care?

Vigilantism is ilegal. The difference between vigilantism and the minutemen is that the minutemen were working with the border patrol and they were operating within strict guidelines. When they discovered an ilegal crossing, they called in the border patrol. At most they detained the individuals and in some cases fed them while waiting on the border patrol to arrive.
Your anology of the mexicans protecting themselves is incorrect. That is the same as saying that it is okay for a criminal to protect themselves in the commision of a crime. By US law, if a person uses a firearm in the commision of a crime it is a felony. If someone is killed by the criminal the crime is Murder in the 1st degree which has the highest penalties. Illegals are commiting a crime when they cross the border. If they use weapons during this crime, they would be held under the same law as other criminals in the US who for example, rob a bank.
As to your last question, I believe that it is a combination of all three. Too much land to be covered by officials, not enough money to fund it, as well as a lack of caring by the US goverment.

Originally posted by Passer By

Aside from the fact they as citizens can arest them if they so choose, from what i understand the MM are patroling the border, when they see people crossing they call up the border patrol and keep track of the illegals untill the border patrol arives to arrest them.

By that stance they are not vigilianti, and ill go on record by saying bush is an idiot for making that statment.

SO then how do you solve it? Isn't there more land in the northern boarder? Why not the problems there?

Merely asking questions on this, I don't want to take any side just trying to figure out why it is an issue there. What do you think can stop it? I like that they are working closely with the law officers, why not just deputise them then? Can't they do that?

By deputizing them would legitamize the issue which the goverment does not want!. What should we do? What could we do?
I advocate the use of US military forces who are presently stationed around the world to take up the task of securing the border. This action would be the most cost effective and will be inline with what most countries around the world already do today.

We need need a new military branch whose primary job is defence of the borders/airports/shipports...

I'm gonna go by the views of a cop. "You act like that you are going to pull a gun or other weapon on me, I have the right to kill you right there!"

.
The minutemen are the true patriots of America.

The official US military is just a meat puppet for corporate oil and war profiteering interests.

One group waves the flag.

The other understands what it really means and stands up for it.
.

i read most of this, but not all.

here's my 2 cents.

i have stated in at least one other thread on this board that i am finally proud of some of the American public again for taking the responsibility to defend the land and the sanctity of this great nation. i have not been proud of the American public in a long, long time. i thank the Minutemen for what they are doing and if i could afford to, i'd send them money too. in fact, i've even thought of volunteering.

before you wonder about me, know this, i am half-Mexican. i have relatives in Mexico, i have relatives in the US that have been here for 30-some years and NEVER filed for citizenship. i wouldn't report them even if i knew where they lived, but i would do my damnedest to talk any of my other relatives out of coming across illegally.

as far the person who mentioned the problems in South Texas that the Minutemen are causing? well, i'm in South Texas and have friends on various Police Forces and Border Patrol and i know ranchers along the border. all of them seem either thankful or have no opinion of the Minutemen in this area.

as far as the drug cartels coming across? these Minutemen know this. they have chosen to do this knowing the dangers full well. if they encounter drug cartels bringing weapons, drugs or people across, they will have expected it. they know they put their lives at risk, at great risk, and yet, they continue to defend the sanctity of this nation.

disclaimer- i do NOT think illegal immigrants should be shot on site. i believe they should be detained and deported after a thorough identification is made. i think Mexico needs to have laws concerning illegal immigration and should partner with the US to put multiple-offenders behind bars IN MEXICO. i think any citizen of the US should be able to perform a citizen's arrest on any illegal immigrant he/she encounters as long as there is proof available. if no proof is available, tip the police and border patrol and police and border patrol should be required to follow up on it. again, i am not of the opinion that people should be killed for breaking this law, the crossing of the border of our nation, but i do think they should be punished relatively harshly.

Instead of shooting them, we could just put them in a Tiajuana jail for twenty years.

.
It is good to hear from you fledgling666.

It seems to me having the nation awash in illegal [potenially slave labor pool] affects all Americans of every descent. All of us legal citizens, especially those of us without advanced degrees or skills will be passed over for people willing to work at [or below] minimum wages without benefits.

I realize this is sort of tick tock the game is locked [purely arbitrary] but most things in life are arbitrary. To let the advatage of being a citizen of this nation be squandered away at the behest of Washington corruption is foolish.

I realize in the long run we are all in competition with every other nation on the planet, but we don't have to run crashing into this. A slower more managed transition is in order.

The reason this wave of illegal immigration is happening is because Washington pandering to corporations desires and not the American people's needs.

What bothers me more is some of these major corporate campaign contributors also claim to be headquartered in the Cayman Islands, or the Bahamas to evade taxes.
They should be treated as foreign entities and not allow to influence internal politics since they have chosen to become ex-patriot.

How is it considered patriotic to invade a nation that was no threat to us by people being paid to perform that [pro-terrorist] task,

And people who volunteer to defend this nation for no pay, out of a sense of duty and recognition of a problem are called vigilantees?

Great the Pentagon gets to play with it newest high-tech toys in Iraq paid as mercenaries always have been. They are being directed by Corporate oil interests and war-profiteers and not in the best interests of the American people.

Minutemen - unpaid volunteers and true patriots of this nation.
.