RUSH: We’ve talked about this, and here’s the latest on it. You know, there’s an operation called the Minuteman Project. It’s a border vigil and it is set to begin on April 1st. You have some peaceable protesters who are going to go along the border, US and Mexico — two thousand miles is the length of this border — and we reported on this last week. There was a to it. Some Mexican government foreign minister are something had sent out warnings to the US government: “You better not take the occasion of these protesters to beat up the immigrants. Our illegal immigrants have rights and they better not be beaten up,” and of course there’s no intention to beat anybody up here on the part of the Minuteman Project. “More than one thousand volunteers expected to take part in a month long vigil on the Arizona-Mexico border on what organizers say will be peaceful protesters on the government’s failure to control illegal immigration. They’re going to have guidelines on how to avoid confrontations and handle the press.” I’m just envisioning this here. So you’re going to have vigils along the border; here come the illegals. What’s supposed to happen, you wave at them as they walk by? You continue to carry your protest placard as the illegals walk by or do you stop them? I’d deputize these people. (Laughing.) I would deputize them.
“This call for volunteers is not a call to arms but a call to voices, seeking peaceful and respectable resolve to the chaotic neglect by members of our local, state and federal governments charged with applying US immigration law.” This was said by James Gilchrist, the “organizer of the so-called Minuteman Project border vigil. About 700 volunteers expected at opening day rallies with more joining as the vigil continues through April 30th near the United States Border Patrol stations in Naco, Arizona and Douglas, Arizona. Volunteers have been told to let the agents know that we appreciate their efforts. The volunteers will operate under guidelines issued by the border vigil organizers, calling for them not to spark confrontations with the outside protesters or create negative press coverage.” You won’t have to create any negative press coverage. Just showing up you’re going to get it, you guys. I just want to warn you. You’re going to get negative press coverage the moment you show up. You may as well do what you want to do because it’s going to be reported negatively anyway. “The volunteers have been told that some people will try to provoke confrontations and that they should not react. They’ve also been told to be careful of what they say to members of the press because they can be the enemy.” (Laughing.)
That’s good! Whoever is organizing this bunch knows the score! “Give the press no reason to use a sound bite that will cleverly be used to make you look bad,” one of the guidelines says. “If there are opposition protesters you can send them a message by ignoring them. Wave, smile and ignore all idiots. Let them make fools of themselves but don’t stoop to their level of ignorance. Let the media show them as the aggressors. This will be a peaceful protest,” says the guideline. “According to the guidelines volunteers will not be permitted to carry rifles but will be allowed to carry handguns if they’re licensed to do so. An operational plan calls for teams of four to six persons to be assigned at intervals of 200 to 300 yards to be deployed along a 20-mile stretch of the border known as the San Pedro River Valley. The plan also calls for the volunteers to go no closer to the border than one mile, and they have been told to make lots of noise and burn campfires at night to be very visible.” You can only go one mile near the border? That means a bunch of illegals could sneak in and the Minuteman Project wouldn’t even see them. I mean a mile is a long way on foot. You ever walked a mile, Mr. Snerdley? I’ll tell you what, that’s no piece of cake. All right. I do find this interesting. Here we have some volunteers.. Why don’t just apprehend the illegals, turn them over? Well, I know they’re going to report them to the Border Patrol, but it would be great if they were deputize. Never happen.
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RUSH: Here’s Byron. This is Lansing, Michigan. Byron, welcome to the EIB Network.
CALLER: Hello, Rush. God bless you, sir. Thank you for your good work.
RUSH: You bet, sir.
CALLER: Yeah. I would like to clear up some misconceptions about the Minuteman Project, of which I am a member. We are down there for the purpose of protesting our government’s failure to secure our southern border. Consider us a sort of Neighborhood Watch for the southern border. We will be there to observe movement across the border, report it to the Border Patrol. We are not there to prevent anyone from crossing. That’s the Border Patrol’s job. We won’t accost anybody arrest anybody or anything of that nature.
RUSH: Well, the Mexican government thinks you’re going to be protesting their illegals, and they’re warning everybody to make sure you don’t beat them up.
CALLER: Oh, no.
RUSH: Because those illegals have rights.
CALLER: Well, see, we won’t be interacting with them in that way.
RUSH: You’re gonna be a mile away. If you see one, I’d like to know it.
CALLER: Like I said, our protest is not against the Mexicans. Those people most of them are trying to make a better life for themselves.
RUSH: Yes.
CALLER: But it’s necessary that they do it by legal means.
RUSH: Yes.
CALLER: And our government has failed to enforce that necessity and we’re just going to assist the Border Patrol in doing its job.
RUSH: Now, what do you hope to illustrate here, that the Border Patrol is not doing its job and that the government is not doing its job because you’re going to report what you see and then no action will be taken and you’re going to say see?
CALLER: Well, actually that’s not what’s happened. We’ve already had people from our group down there; they have reported movement across the border to the Border Patrol. The Border Patrol responds to it and has picked up a number of people.
RUSH: You guys remind me of Ashley Smith. Ashley Smith in Atlanta? She goes and captures the bad guy and then tells the authorities where he is.
CALLER: Well, the Border Patrol does a lovely job but they are seriously undermanned and we’re just standing in the gap.
RUSH: What do you think about using the National Guard for this?
CALLER: I think that’s a wonderful idea. I would like to see some of our bases not closed, but relocated to the border and put the National Guard, you know, in the business of protecting the country.
RUSH: What about using the full-fledged US military instead of the National Guard?
CALLER: I don’t know that that would be necessary. I think the National Guard alone would have more than enough capability to do the job, but the US military regular forces could be used as a supplement to back them up and for training purposes.
RUSH: Well, but the problem, that’s not really legal. Military is not employed to be employed for those purposes domestically.
CALLER: Would it not be legal to deploy standard US forces for the purposes of preventing an invasion?
RUSH: Yeah. I know, that’s why I asked you what your thought on this was.
CALLER: Oh, well, it’s perfectly legal to prevent foreign people from crossing the border illegally. That’s an illegal migration, could even be deemed an unarmed invasion, and we certainly have a legal right to use our military to prevent that.
RUSH: So how many of you… I know the newspaper story I had mentions 400 or more, or 800 or more. How many do you think will actually end up before the month of April is over, that you’ll have down there on the protesting with you? Or the vigil.
CALLER: I could do no more than guess, but I would say we’ll have at least 700, and I would expect more than a thousand over the month period.
RUSH: Now, what’s interesting to me about this and I want to make this point, you’re from Lansing, Michigan, right?
CALLER: That’s right.
RUSH: Do you know there’s a northeastern state that has one of the greatest concentrations of illegal immigrants through our southern border? It’s New Jersey. My point here is that this is not just an issue any longer that’s upsetting to people in Arizona or California or Texas. It’s branched beyond Border States now. The fact that Byron here is going to go down there from Lansing, Michigan. Byron, I’ve got ten seconds. What do you do for a living?
CALLER: I’m actually a retired auto worker from General Motors —
RUSH: Oh, okay.
CALLER: — and I work part time in a bicycle shop.
RUSH: Okay, okay, I was wondering how you were going to find time to do this and that explains it. Just wanted to make sure you’re not part of a rent-a-mob out there. They have no credibility.
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