Border fence construction stalled
By Jonathan Clark
Herald/Review
BISBEE — An effort by the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps to build a
border fence at a private ranch near Bisbee Junction has been stalled
for the past three months due to a shortage of funds and volunteer
manpower.
Landowner Richard Hodges, who invited the MCDC to build a 14-foot,
double-layered security fence on his ranch last fall, said the
civilian border watch group stopped working on the project in
January. "They're waiting for more donations," he said.
Al Garza, the MCDC's national executive director, said that his group
has now generated the necessary funds to finish the 9/10-mile fence,
but is focusing on its April border-watch campaign in the Altar
Valley before sending volunteers back to Hodges' ranch.
"The donations have been coming in again, and the only reason we have
kind of avoided that area is because we are concentrating on securing
the border right now — which means spotting and reporting," Garza said.
The materials for the fence are in hand, Garza said, and he expects
work to start up again within two weeks.
Hodges said that he has noticed an increase in illegal border-
crossers since the Minutemen stopped working at the ranch.
"When the Minutemen are there, we have almost nobody going through.
When they're not there, then we've got a lot of people," said Hodges,
who estimated that between 30 and 60 illegal immigrants now cross his
372-acre property on a typical day.
The Minutemen, with help from a local contractor, have so far managed
to plant a row of 14-foot posts along all but one 300-foot stretch of
Hodges' border-facing land. Galvanized-steel meshing connects
approximately half of the posts.
Plans call for that fence to be fronted, eventually, by an additional
8-to-10 feet of sensor-equipped, fiber-optic meshing. A roadway will
run between the two fences to allow for vehicular access.
Despite the recent construction slowdown, Hodges says he has no
regrets about inviting the Minutemen to build their fence on his
land. "I'm very confident they will finish it," he said. "They have
every intention of doing so."
JONATHAN CLARK can be reached at 515-4693 or by e-mail at
jonathan.clark@bisbeereview.net.
Minutemen say border-crossers 'swarming' through Sasabe area
BY Jonathan Clark
Herald/Review
BISBEE — Volunteers from the Minuteman Civilian Defense Corps have
spotted more than 700 illegal border crossers since beginning a
vigilance campaign in Arizona two weeks ago, a spokesman for the
group said Friday.
According to Al Garza, the MCDC's national executive director,
Minuteman volunteers operating in the Altar Valley have called the
U.S. Border Patrol to report sightings of 728 illegal immigrants —
234 of whom were later apprehended. Garza said that the flow of
illegal immigration through the desert around Sasabe is heavier than
the numbers suggest.
"They're actually swarming through there," he said.
The MCDC is engaged in a sort of cat-and-mouse game with human
smugglers, Garza said, in which the smugglers constantly change their
routes as they probe for unguarded areas.
The Minutemen respond by sending special scout teams comprised of ex-
military to locate the latest routes and establish observation posts.
"We're having to work by moving back and forth," Garza said.
"Then we wind up three or four days later right back where we started."
The MCDC launched its third annual April border watch campaign in
Arizona with a rally in Three Points on March 30. The group is
conducting similar month-long campaigns in Texas, New Mexico,
California and Washington state.
The number of volunteers in Arizona has fluctuated between 35 and
150, Garza said.
JONATHAN CLARK can be reached at 515-4693 or by e-mail at
jonathan.clark@bisbeereview.net.
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