Chasing Our Own Tail?

More Government Stupidity


I don’t know about you, but I’ve been pretty impressed with the success to date of The Minuteman Project in demonstrating the shortcomings of government border control efforts while at the same time improving border security.

It’s amazing to me that regular citizens—mere amateurs—can do a better job for FREE than the Imperial Federal Government of the United States could spending billions dollars annually.

In spite of being called vigilantes and “a ticking time bomb” by the usual suspects (various “immigration activists”, socialists, liberals, Democrats, and many in the Lamestream Media,) to my knowledge there has been no reported abuse, injuries, or deaths of any prospective “guest workers” trying to walk or climb or swim across the Rio Grande in the presence of the Minutemen and Minutewomen.

Hundreds of illegal border crossings have been thwarted and dozens if not hundreds of potential “guest workers” have been rounded up and either sent back to Mexico or are awaiting justice in jails in the Southwest.

I would think that a reasonable person or group of persons like the Government officials responsible for border control would be thankful for the assistance, but instead this article indicates that our government may be actually tipping off the Mexican Government of Minutemen activities in advance.

While Minuteman civilian patrols are keeping an eye out for illegal border crossers, the U.S. Border Patrol is keeping an eye out for Minutemen -- and telling the Mexican government where they are.

According to three documents on the Mexican Secretary of Foreign Relations Web site, the U.S. Border Patrol is to notify the Mexican government as to the location of Minutemen and other civilian border patrol groups when they participate in apprehending illegal immigrants -- and if and when violence is used against border crossers.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman confirmed the notification process, describing it as a standard procedure meant to reassure the Mexican government that migrants' rights are being observed.

"It's not a secret where the Minuteman volunteers are going to be," Mario Martinez said Monday

My first reaction was my usual “What the HELL?”, but after letting things develop during the day today now things don’t seem so cut and dried because US Customs and Border Protection is now publicly denying the allegation.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is refuting a Daily Bulletin report that the U.S. Border Patrol provided information to the Mexican government about the whereabouts of civilian border watch groups.

Today's report by the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, `U.S. tipping Mexico to Minuteman patrols,' is inaccurate," read the statement issued Tuesday evening. "Border Patrol does not report activity by civilian, non-law enforcement groups to the government of Mexico."

Kristi Clemens, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection, would not elaborate on the agency's statement other than to say the U.S. gives information to Mexican officials under the rules of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963, which provides foreign nationals being detained by a government the right to consular access.

I did a little snooping of my own and, being unable to read much Spanish, I was able to get Google to give me this translated copy of the Mexican government website containing a discussion of US cooperation with them regarding the Minuteman project.

Looks to me like someone here in the US is talking to someone south of the border, and it looks like the information is making it onto the internet and could potentially be used by someone intent on getting a job plucking chickens here in Georgia.

Of course a critical question in my mind would be the timing of the supply of the information.

IF data is changing hands, are things done in real time or in historical report form?

Knowing the chicken shit manner in which our government handles border security, and considering the level of jealousy and embarrassment that certain officials (elected and appointed) might be feeling over the success of the Minutemen, I certainly wouldn't be too surprised if we’re handing them the location of the border enforcement efforts in an effort to undermine their success.

Let’s just sit back and see where this story goes.