Scary racist vigilante types

As Guatemala moves forward in combating racism with a landmark court decision, it seems that the United States is sinking deeper into a swamp of xenophobic fear disguised as patriotism.

The "Minuteman Project", an armed right-wing paramilitary group, began patrolling the Arizona-Mexico border two days ago in order to "stop illegals from coming across".

As one of the articles on their website states:

What will those illegal aliens and drug smugglers see on the border come April 1, 2005? They are going to meet with a miles long line of organized, military-style, determined, gritty and pissed-off American patriots in tents, motor-homes and pickup trucks standing by campfires and from every walk of life.

The vigilante wannabes add:

Most illegals will try to avoid confrontation if at all possible. They are more afraid of the "uncontrolled vigilantes" than they are of anyone wearing a badge.

And they definitely have the support of some sadly misguided American "patriots", as evidenced on their comments page:

If I were near you, I would participate. I live in Georgia. It is a sad day that our gov't. sits on their backsides while these illegals are ruining our country. Around here, blacks used to be the majority you would see in the health departments. These days, hispanics are the majority and few Americans can get treated.

and:

Hi , I just wanted to say that I wish you all the success possible with this project, If I had the time I would join you myself! There are more illegal aliens here, than we Native Americans, and they bleed our welfare and social services big time! Our Border Patrol has sucked for decades and its about time that someone is doing something about it!

The patrol also has drawn major interest on White supremacist Web sites and in their chat rooms. An Aryan Nation site links directly to the Minuteman Project home page with the words: "A call for action on part of all Aryan soldiers."

Racist Rep. Tom Tancredo, of Colorado, before giving the keynote speech at the Minuteman cross-burning... I mean, meeting... said "I am going to Tombstone on Friday to tell those good citizens they are heroes, not 'vigilantes,' and that tens of millions of Americans are there with them in spirit".

So far, the Minuteman have limited success in chasing down the "invaders":

Earlier this weekend, an illegal alien from Guatemala stumbled into the bible camp where the MMP is operating. He inadvertently wandered into the hornets' nest...

But the overzealous border-watchers seem to be providing the Border Patrol with more headaches than help, according to this article :

Minuteman Project volunteers are setting off sensors and creating footprints that are leading Border Patrol agents on wild goose chases, said Andy Adame, an agency spokesman. What is happening is the trackers follow the footprints and end up coming "upon a bunch of civilians, the volunteers," he said. "It's untrained civilians walking around jeopardizing our mission," he said.

And in the end, the uninformed arguments of these sixty-second boys (ok, Minutemen) concerning the "threats" of illegal immigrants are as empty as their beer coolers after a day under the Arizona sun.

As for the "drain" that undocumented workers place on the US economy, I found this New York Times article very telling:

Illegal Immigrants Are Bolstering Social Security With Billions

By Eduardo Porter

Stockton, Calif. - Since illegally crossing the Mexican border into the United States six years ago, Ángel Martínez has done backbreaking work, harvesting asparagus, pruning grapevines and picking the ripe fruit. More recently, he has also washed trucks, often working as much as 70 hours a week, earning $8.50 to $12.75 an hour.

Not surprisingly, Mr. Martínez, 28, has not given much thought to Social Security's long-term financial problems. But Mr. Martínez - who comes from the state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico and hiked for two days through the desert to enter the United States near Tecate, some 20 miles east of Tijuana - contributes more than most Americans to the solvency of the nation's public retirement system.

Last year, Mr. Martínez paid about $2,000 toward Social Security and $450 for Medicare through payroll taxes withheld from his wages. Yet unlike most Americans, who will receive some form of a public pension in retirement and will be eligible for Medicare as soon as they turn 65, Mr. Martínez is not entitled to benefits.

He belongs to a big club. As the debate over Social Security heats up, the estimated seven million or so illegal immigrant workers in the United States are now providing the system with a subsidy of as much as $7 billion a year.

While it has been evident for years that illegal immigrants pay a variety of taxes, the extent of their contributions to Social Security is striking: the money added up to about 10 percent of last year's surplus - the difference between what the system currently receives in payroll taxes and what it doles out in pension benefits. Moreover, the money paid by illegal workers and their employers is factored into all the Social Security Administration's projections.

Illegal immigration, Marcelo Suárez-Orozco, co-director of immigration studies at New York University, noted sardonically, could provide "the fastest way to shore up the long-term finances of Social Security."

So now know you know... if the Social Security system collapses... it was the Minutemen's fault!

Posted by elcanche at April 6, 2005 06:56 PM