Mission Creep

This is the latest in a series of reports on the Minutemen, the yahoos who've charged themselves with the project of securing the US-Mexico border.

Man Eegee had it earlier today, the news that the first of what is sure to be many altercations between the Minutemen and migrants has come to pass. Mind you that the Minutemen have said time and again that they were merely there to watch and report to the US Border Patrol.

Except when they want to embarrass a poor Mexican and take pictures of him:

TUCSON, Ariz. Apr 7, 2005 — Three volunteers patrolling the border for illegal immigrants were being investigated after a man told authorities he was held against his will and forced to pose for a picture holding a T-shirt with a mocking slogan.

Border Patrol agents called in deputies from the Cochise County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday afternoon to report that an immigrant was detained by three men who identified themselves as project volunteers.

Carol Capas, a sheriff's office spokeswoman, said the 26-year-old Mexican man told agents he was physically restrained and forced to hold a shirt while his picture was taken and he was videotaped.

The shirt read: "Bryan Barton caught an illegal alien and all I got was this T-shirt."

Barton is one of the three volunteers. He told agents that they waved the man over to them, offered him food and water, and gave him the T-shirt and money before the Border Patrol arrived.

"All they did was provide water and wait for the Border Patrol," Minuteman spokesman Grey Deacon said. "What's the big deal?"

What's the big deal? I don't know... it's assault, let's start there, shall we? It's forced humiliation. And most important, it's just another move of the goalposts for the Minutemen, from "we won't touch the illegals" to "we'll just entice them with food and take pictures of them." The mission creep has already begun here. How much longer until "All they did was shoot at his feet to make him run back to his side of the border. What's the big deal?"

Additionally, this post by the Political State Report has a really nice roundup of things.

I've debunked the numbers that show how well the Project is "working," but lastly, consider this: the Minutemen are arrayed on 24 miles of border out of thousands. The Mexican side is desperate not to allow an international incident, and are stepping up their efforts there. The coyotes who ferry illegals across know what's up and where else to go. The US Border Patrol just added 500 agents. And futhermore, if you don't catch an illegal who crosses, how do you COUNT him? To put the rise or fall of illegal crossings solely on the Minutemen and not on all the factors designed to minimize their impact is, I think, silly.

thanks...