Her454
09-20-2005, 10:53 AM
The Yuma Daily Sun reported in Sunday's paper that the Yuma based Border Patrol is now the busiest in the nation surpassing that of the Tucson Border patrol and its growing worse and more confrontational daily..... its scary its growing at such an alarming rate.
Farmer, Patriots get patrol help from Minutemen
BY BLAKE SCHMIDT, Sun Staff Writer
Sep 17, 2005, 10:12 pm
Eight members of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps of Tombstone came to Yuma for the first time this weekend to patrol an area near the border with the Yuma Patriots, where a local farmer had asked for help with an increasing number of illegal immigrants trampling his crops.
The volunteer patrol groups, who were unarmed, helped the Border Patrol capture two groups of illegal immigrants Friday night, and ran into a snag when the Cocopah police told them they were not allowed to patrol on County 15th Street, a road that runs between the farmer's property and Cocopah tribal lands.
Flash Sharrar, founder of the Yuma Patriots, said he received the request for help from a local farmer last week, and Sharrar forwarded the request to Stacey O'Connell, a member of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps.
Flash Sharrar, leader of the Yuma Patriots, points Saturday at footprints of alleged illegal immigrants who walked across a crop field near Avenue I and U.S. Highway 95. Sun photo/Jacob Lopez
O'Connell said the MCDC wanted to come down to Yuma to see how the Yuma Patriots operate.
The farmer's 100-acre plot, on U.S. Highway 95 just west of Somerton, is located between the border and Highway 95, where aliens run to be picked up by traffickers, and often times taxi drivers, Sharrar said.
Sharrar said that during patrol Friday night, the patrolling Minutemen and Yuma Patriots deterred two taxi cab drivers attempting to pick up illegal immigrants.
Sharrar also got see some action. When a U.S. Border Patrol helicopter was pursuing a group of illegal aliens on the private property Friday night, four of them headed his way.
He flicked his spotlight on them.
"¡Sientese, la migra!" Sharrar said in Spanish, meaning "sit down, immigration."
Sharrar said the four aliens sat down, and were apprehended by Border Patrol.
"It's an adrenaline rush," he said. "But you know what's wonderful? (The farmers) say they love us. That's the real rush."
Kent Cuming, a farmer who leases land where the Patriots and Minutemen have been patrolling, said the volunteer patrollers are the only ones doing anything to stop illegal aliens from trampling on his crops.
"Illegals, they walk across all of your produce. Every step they take, it's a head of cauliflower," Cuming said, adding that his workers often see "hundreds" of illegal immigrants in a night.
"Border Patrol is doing all they can, they just don't have enough manpower," he said.
Both the MCDC and the Yuma Patriots worked unarmed, said O'Connell.
O'Connell said that MCDC policy is the same as Arizona state law, and those with licenses can carry weapons. He said normally about half of the Minutemen volunteers would be armed.
"But that's not how Flash's organization works, they work unarmed, so we did too," he said. The volunteers came armed only with nightvision goggles, spotlights, and two-way radios, as well as first aid and water to hand out to illegals.
The volunteer citizen patrol groups used Sharrar's RV, which was parked on the local farmer's property, as their "command center." Radio equipment, refreshments and spotlights were all stored in the RV.
The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps was developed out of the Minuteman Project in April, a 30-day event in which volunteers patrolled across Cochise County in order to raise awareness of border issues.
Even though the MCDC developed out of the Minuteman Project, Sharrar said, the group's leader is Chris Simcox, not Jim Gilchrist though the groups occasionally work together.
"Our mission is to bring the topic of illegal immigration and national security on our porous open border to the limelight," O'Connell said.
Friday night, patrolling Minutemen and Yuma Patriots helped the U.S. Border Patrol apprehend two different groups of four alleged illegal immigrants, O'Connell said.
It has been a record year for the Border Patrol Yuma sector. With more than 130,000 apprehensions to date, Public Information Officer Michael Gramley said Border Patrol Headquarters has identified the problem in Yuma, and will have sent another 100 agents to Yuma by the end of the year.
"We do get citizens reports quite often of aliens on the border area, and we make it our priority to respond to each call," Gramley said. He said he expects the increase in agents will improve the situation on the Yuma border.
Bob Haran, 53, a retired NYPD administrative aid, came from Phoenix this weekend to help the Yuma Patriots patrol the area.
"I feel strange guarding my country at 53," Haran said. Haran slept in his 1988 Lincoln Town Car Friday night.
Haran said he received specific orders not to carry firearms on patrol in Yuma.
O'Connell said the MCDC is coordinating a 30-day event in October that will have volunteer patrols in all four border states.
Agustin Tumbaga, ex-mayor of Somerton and human rights activist, works as a sort of Minuteman watchdog. He has met with the Yuma Patriots and said he is concerned about the possibility of "one or two bad apples" in volunteer patrol groups.
"If they overstep their bounds, it's going to be chaos," he said.
Tumbaga said the weekend that the MCDC chose to come to Yuma was "interesting."
"They came down during the Mexican holiday. Did they come down to prove a point? I don't know if they want to insult the Mexicans in regards to the day they are doing it," he said.
Sharrar said he didn't know it was a Mexican holiday.
"I live in America. I don't keep track of Mexicans, that's not my job," he said. "I don't celebrate Mexico."
Farmer, Patriots get patrol help from Minutemen
BY BLAKE SCHMIDT, Sun Staff Writer
Sep 17, 2005, 10:12 pm
Eight members of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps of Tombstone came to Yuma for the first time this weekend to patrol an area near the border with the Yuma Patriots, where a local farmer had asked for help with an increasing number of illegal immigrants trampling his crops.
The volunteer patrol groups, who were unarmed, helped the Border Patrol capture two groups of illegal immigrants Friday night, and ran into a snag when the Cocopah police told them they were not allowed to patrol on County 15th Street, a road that runs between the farmer's property and Cocopah tribal lands.
Flash Sharrar, founder of the Yuma Patriots, said he received the request for help from a local farmer last week, and Sharrar forwarded the request to Stacey O'Connell, a member of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps.
Flash Sharrar, leader of the Yuma Patriots, points Saturday at footprints of alleged illegal immigrants who walked across a crop field near Avenue I and U.S. Highway 95. Sun photo/Jacob Lopez
O'Connell said the MCDC wanted to come down to Yuma to see how the Yuma Patriots operate.
The farmer's 100-acre plot, on U.S. Highway 95 just west of Somerton, is located between the border and Highway 95, where aliens run to be picked up by traffickers, and often times taxi drivers, Sharrar said.
Sharrar said that during patrol Friday night, the patrolling Minutemen and Yuma Patriots deterred two taxi cab drivers attempting to pick up illegal immigrants.
Sharrar also got see some action. When a U.S. Border Patrol helicopter was pursuing a group of illegal aliens on the private property Friday night, four of them headed his way.
He flicked his spotlight on them.
"¡Sientese, la migra!" Sharrar said in Spanish, meaning "sit down, immigration."
Sharrar said the four aliens sat down, and were apprehended by Border Patrol.
"It's an adrenaline rush," he said. "But you know what's wonderful? (The farmers) say they love us. That's the real rush."
Kent Cuming, a farmer who leases land where the Patriots and Minutemen have been patrolling, said the volunteer patrollers are the only ones doing anything to stop illegal aliens from trampling on his crops.
"Illegals, they walk across all of your produce. Every step they take, it's a head of cauliflower," Cuming said, adding that his workers often see "hundreds" of illegal immigrants in a night.
"Border Patrol is doing all they can, they just don't have enough manpower," he said.
Both the MCDC and the Yuma Patriots worked unarmed, said O'Connell.
O'Connell said that MCDC policy is the same as Arizona state law, and those with licenses can carry weapons. He said normally about half of the Minutemen volunteers would be armed.
"But that's not how Flash's organization works, they work unarmed, so we did too," he said. The volunteers came armed only with nightvision goggles, spotlights, and two-way radios, as well as first aid and water to hand out to illegals.
The volunteer citizen patrol groups used Sharrar's RV, which was parked on the local farmer's property, as their "command center." Radio equipment, refreshments and spotlights were all stored in the RV.
The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps was developed out of the Minuteman Project in April, a 30-day event in which volunteers patrolled across Cochise County in order to raise awareness of border issues.
Even though the MCDC developed out of the Minuteman Project, Sharrar said, the group's leader is Chris Simcox, not Jim Gilchrist though the groups occasionally work together.
"Our mission is to bring the topic of illegal immigration and national security on our porous open border to the limelight," O'Connell said.
Friday night, patrolling Minutemen and Yuma Patriots helped the U.S. Border Patrol apprehend two different groups of four alleged illegal immigrants, O'Connell said.
It has been a record year for the Border Patrol Yuma sector. With more than 130,000 apprehensions to date, Public Information Officer Michael Gramley said Border Patrol Headquarters has identified the problem in Yuma, and will have sent another 100 agents to Yuma by the end of the year.
"We do get citizens reports quite often of aliens on the border area, and we make it our priority to respond to each call," Gramley said. He said he expects the increase in agents will improve the situation on the Yuma border.
Bob Haran, 53, a retired NYPD administrative aid, came from Phoenix this weekend to help the Yuma Patriots patrol the area.
"I feel strange guarding my country at 53," Haran said. Haran slept in his 1988 Lincoln Town Car Friday night.
Haran said he received specific orders not to carry firearms on patrol in Yuma.
O'Connell said the MCDC is coordinating a 30-day event in October that will have volunteer patrols in all four border states.
Agustin Tumbaga, ex-mayor of Somerton and human rights activist, works as a sort of Minuteman watchdog. He has met with the Yuma Patriots and said he is concerned about the possibility of "one or two bad apples" in volunteer patrol groups.
"If they overstep their bounds, it's going to be chaos," he said.
Tumbaga said the weekend that the MCDC chose to come to Yuma was "interesting."
"They came down during the Mexican holiday. Did they come down to prove a point? I don't know if they want to insult the Mexicans in regards to the day they are doing it," he said.
Sharrar said he didn't know it was a Mexican holiday.
"I live in America. I don't keep track of Mexicans, that's not my job," he said. "I don't celebrate Mexico."