Organizers of a volunteer border patrol
group say nearly 900 people have signed up for the program, nearly
twice the initial goal of the project. Jim Gilchrist, a retired
California accountant behind the Minuteman Project, said Thursday that
he had initially hoped to recruit 500 volunteers, but nearly 900 have
signed up so far. "I'm elated to see that so many people are willing to
come out," Gilchrist told the Tucson Citizen. Volunteers plan to
conduct round-the-clock patrols in the San Pedro Valley, a popular
smuggling corridor, during April. They say they'll call the U.S. Border
Patrol if they find illegal immigrants. Douglas Mayor Ray Borane,
however, was doubtful about the group's volunteer estimates. Actual
turnout for similar organizations "always turns out to be much lower
than their predictions," he said. Borane is concerned about the types
of people the project will attract, fearing that some will be from
openly racist groups that have shown interest in the project. "How are
they going to screen these people?" he asked. "They won't know who they
are, and they won't be able to control them." [more]
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