Minutemen Bring Their Message To Washington

Members of the Minuteman Project went to Washington recently to deliver their message to members of the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus. I think Chris Simcox made their point rather clearly:

“I'm here this week to bring a very simple, blue-collar message to our elected officials,” Simcox said. “... the people are going to pick up the slack from this point on. We must take care of our own property. We must secure our borders. We must protect our neighbors and our families and our way of life.”

“While our soldiers, men and women, are fighting for the cause on foreign soil, it's time we begin fighting for the cause here in America on our own soil,” he added. “My message is direct and is simple, and it's a challenge. We challenge the federal government to relieve us from duty.”

Simcox said the group will start in New Mexico, and then move to California and Texas, and also to northern border states.

“We're going to seal that border as citizens, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean,” he said. “There's no compromise. That's my message.”

Nothing like putting your cards on the table especially when at least some members of government are willing to back you up.

“I support utilizing troops on the border to supplement the U.S. Border Patrol,” said Rep. Virgil Goode, R-Va. “I think it would send a strong message that the United States means 'no' to illegal immigration.”

Rep. J.D. Hayworth, R-Ariz., agreed.

“National security dictates protection of our borders,” he said. “This is the irony. In this war on terror, we have put in place elements of our military on the borders of Iraq and Afghanistan. If we are willing to help protect those countries' borders, shouldn't we do the same in America?”

Of course the story would not be complete without someone to express “concern that rhetoric against illegal immigrants is dehumanizing those in the hispanic community.” That someone was Priscilla Monico, a Student at Georgetown University.

“It's a matter of feeding your family, and I think that Americans sometimes forget the humanistic aspect of this,” she said. “You have to understand that people are trying to live; they're just trying to survive. It's not like they're trying to scam the United States or anything like that.”

Here's a touch of reality for Priscilla. There are very few people who oppose immigrants coming here to work hard, support their families and have a better life. I do the same thing. I put in 50+ hours a week to feed and house and provide a good life for my family. But here's the difference. I do it legally. What people object to is putting out the welcome mat for criminals. And those who cross the border illegally are by definition not fine upstanding law-abiding citizens.

UPDATE:More on the Minutemen at Michelle Malkin.

Posted by: Stephen Macklin at 02:51 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment