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Interviews with Utah Minutemen:

Doing the Job Our Officials Refuse to Do

(News for 6/1/05)


Two Utah Minutemen hoist the Utah State flag near the Mexican border in Arizona.
(click on picture to enlarge)

Summary: You've witnessed the embarrassment of president George Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox. You've seen and heard what the Utah press has reported. Now consider the first-hand accounts of several brave Utah Minutemen who assisted in proving that our nation's borders can be guarded against the illegal hordes invading our nation.

Topics:

Introduction to Utah Minutemen

Part I: Border Activity, Patrols, & Local Communities

   What went on along your section of the border during your pre-MMP tour?

   Wally and Jeff, did you see similar border activity once the MP project officially began?

   You speak of "patrols". How were you organized?

   What is it like in the U.S. communities along the border?

   What separates the U.S. from Mexico?

   The Utah media reported that there was a broiling local "controversy" over your efforts down there. How were you received?

Part II: How Illegals Play the Game

   What happens to illegals who are caught by the BP?

   What were your impressions of the illegal aliens you personally encountered?

   What did the illegals do once they crossed into the U.S.? Q: What was the extent of your involvement in apprehending illegal aliens?

Part III: How Did the U.S. Government Treat You?

   What were your observations and impressions regarding the BP?

   Did you ever see any planes during your service there?

   What do you think of the actions of your government with regard to illegal aliens?

   How were you treated by your government?

   They threatened to arrest you for entering a public area to communicate with them?

   Question: What do you think of Pres. Bush's accusation?

   If you weren't vigilantes, what were you?

Part IV: Threats by Mexican Government & Drug Cartel

   Your lives were publicly threatened by a Mexican drug lord being held in federal prison. Were you fearful?

   You knew about these rumors before you went down there, right? How did that affect you?

   Did you witness any violence?

Final Thoughts: What of the Future?

   Who is at fault for illegal immigration?

   What do you think of the guestworker amnesty proposals?

   So who is pushing for amnesty for illegals?

   How does this problem impact Utah?

   Will the MMP happen again?

 

Introduction to Utah Minutemen

Russell Sias spent January, February, and part of March 2005 on several border patrols in both Arizona and Texas prior to the official start of the Minuteman Project (MP) in April 2005. As detailed in this article, his experiences offer a stark contrast to the experiences of our other interviewees. Russell reveals a very different picture of the behavior of the U.S. federal government, Mexican government, illegal aliens, and even drug traffickers.

Orientation meeting in Naco, Arizona, for Minutemen from all over the United States.
(click on picture to enlarge)

Wally McCormick and Jeff McNeil served on the Arizona-Mexico border along a 23-mile stretch between Palominos and Douglas from March 30th to April 4th, 2005.

Alex Segura served in the same area, performing different shifts daily from April 2-8, 2005. He went alone and met up with three other Utah Minutemen there.

Back to Topics

Part I: Border Activity, Patrols, & Local Communities

Question: What went on along your section of the border during your pre-MMP tour?

Russell Sias surveying border area.
(click on picture to enlarge)

Russell Sias: I made several patrols from January to March 2005. During my first experience, we were about 25 feet off the desert floor. We witnessed seven groups of people, composed of 15-20 people each, out in the desert on the Mexican side. They waited there until dark. A half-hour or so after dark, these groups began to cross the border. We called the Border Patrol (BP). They arrived and confronted one of these groups. The group that was confronted scattered out in the desert within a quarter mile or so along the U.S. side of the border. During the 90 minutes or so that it took to round them all up and get them loaded into vans for the trip back to the Naco Border Patrol station, the other six groups vanished into to night — and into the interior of the U.S.

The same scene is repeated, night after night. During my border watches, rarely and hour went by that I did not see similar scenes played out. The vastly outnumbered BP agent(s) often meet the overwhelming odds of six or seven groups of illegal aliens coming across the border at once. They can only deal with one group at a time. Buses, vans, sedans, and trucks would drop them off during the day along the Mexican Highway #2, and they would spend the day hiking across the desert and then sit just south of the border until just after dark, when they would make the final short trek across our southern border…

Typical apprehension of illegal aliens. Courtesy of americanborderpatrol.com
(click on picture to enlarge)

Those who take their [illegal alien's] money are despicable. I watched 3 buses in 10 minutes dump people off at noon along the Mexican highway. It was unremarkable to see 150 people be dropped off in half an hour or so. Then, later in the day, towards evening, we could watch through a scope and see their campfires and hear their conversations while they waited for dark. Often, these campsites were only a few hundred yards from the border.

Jeff McNeil: A BP agent told me he caught the same guy six nights in a row and on the 7th night he didn’t. He assumed the guy got through that time.

Russell Sias: I drove a truck similar to a typical "coyote" [i.e. smuggler of human beings]. On one night, I was parked by a school and saw nine agents vehicles chase one coyote [drug smuggler] in a Mercedes no less, as he ran towards the border to escape their pursuit. He drove right directly into the desert, eventually getting stuck and abandoning his car. He was able to escape, and by leaving his car, make it back across the border. They impounded the car, along with 10 pounds of drugs. The way the system is presently working, next week, he can go buy that car back for pennies on the dollar — at a BP auction! I've been told many buy their same cars back the next week at these auctions. From my conversations with the BP, I learned that we have several coyotes operating right here in Salt Lake valley. When an illegal alien makes an arrangement with a coyote, the coyote agrees to take the criminal illegal alien to some particular location, such as Salt Lake City, or Provo, Utah. Utah is one of the favorite destinations because of our very lax enforcement of immigration laws. Until very recently, we freely granted criminal illegal aliens driver’s licenses, and now that the REAL ID act has been passed to limit the giving of driver’s licenses, we now give them a Driver’s Privilege Card instead! We must begin to ask ourselves why we give them any sort of privilege, after all, they are criminals.

Back to Topics

Question: Wally and Jeff, did you see similar border activity once the MP project officially began?

"Station 6" is located at the top of this dirt road.
(click on picture to enlarge)

Wally McCormick: Not while we were there during the Minuteman Project. (MMP). We served at Station 6, same as one of the places that Russell and Chris Simcox, who was the head of this phase of the MMP patrolled.

Russell Sias: They [illegal aliens] were warned not to cross there while the MMP patrolled the areas. Still, 200-300 tried during the MMP [official time period]. Mexican enforcement folks, during the month of the MMP, took great pains to patrol the southern side of the border, and hauled those attempting to cross our border, to either side of the project, advising them that the MMP were patrolling and so it was unadvisable to cross at that point of the border. Still, some did attempt to do so.

Wally McCormick: Group Beta, basically the Mexican border patrol, came to take illegals away from our area of the border, to probably another crossing point.

Jeff McNeil: They were more like "Search and Rescue" than a border patrol.

Alex Segura: Grupo Beta (Mexican human rights) were stationed to encourage crossers approaching the 20-mile MMP teams to return home. We were told the Mexican military were also in the area. The Grupo Beta wore bright orange shirts and drove new orange trucks. We usually had one to two trucks within our binocular vision, with several orange coats per truck. The local ranchers told us that they had never seen these "orange coats" before. We watched the orange guys with our binoculars. From our lawn chairs, armed with walkie-talkie radios and bottled waters. We watched them drive around in their orange trucks. They would park under trees and eat their lunches. Get out and walk around. Go under bridges where migrants camp. We would from time to time see people who may have been migrants get in the backs of their orange trucks.

Russell Sias: During my stay in the area, I never saw these orange trucks. Not even once.

Alex Segura: I can also add that while my group was posted at our section not one illegal crosser traversed the well-worn paths. They did not walk through the openings in the barbed wire as they normally do. Our presence stopped illegal crossings in this area — normally commonplace.

Back to Topics

Question: You speak of "patrols". How were you organized?

Alex Segura: In our sector, teams of Minutemen from two to five set up on a hillside along a dirt road ten paces from the border of Mexico. I think we had a total of nine teams. Although too far to talk, you could see a Minuteman team on either side of you. We communicated with each team via walkie-talkie radios. It was very well organized. We had a MMP supervisor driving by periodically. Each team was encouraged to fly their state flag. A New York flag was flying from the team to our west and a Florida flag flying from the team to our east. Our team flew an American and Utah flag combo. For 8 hour shifts around the clock, Minutemen — a giant neighborhood watch — groups were armed with binoculars, cells phones and handheld walkie-talkie radios. We set up lawn chairs and umbrellas. In short, we were noisy and visible. Chris Simcox had said noise was a good thing at a Minuteman post to deter would-be crossers.

Back to Topics

Question: What is it like in the U.S. communities along the border?

From left to right: Dawn Walker, older daughter, and Terry Walker.
(click on picture to enlarge)

Wally McCormick: It is a war zone on the U.S. side of the border near Naco where we were stationed. Near Naco we met a young family, the Walkers, who had four young daughters. They have a private fence around their entire property. Even with this fence, at night, they would turn on their floodlights and see 50-100 illegals camped out in their backyard. The illegals would bang on their doors demanding food, water, drugs, cigarettes, and money and threatened that if they didn't provide such they would be sorry. If they stepped out of their door, they were yelled at, flipped off, and men would grab their genitals. They are too poor to sell their property. Each family member has to wear a gun on their person all of their waking hours. I ask, "How can this possibly be happening in the United States?"

Dawn said the Douglas Hospital has closed completely, and Bisbee has closed their OB Department and is on the verge of closing down completely. Treating illegals without payment has forced them to close, and if they didn't [treat the illegals], the government would have closed them down because it demanded that hospitals treat illegals even if they don't pay. She also said that they took all of their children to self-defense classes. They never knew if those in their yard were tomato pickers or drug runners.

Russell Sias: I also met a terrified mother of three, a ranch owner, whose twelve-year-old carried a gun — to go play on their very own property! All of the family NEVER went outside without three things: A cell phone, a walkie-talkie, and a functioning side arm. This is not uncommon. This family cannot sell their property because no one is willing to buy it. They are stuck there — because of the criminal illegal alien trespassers.

Alex Segura: The Walkers are ranchers and live on 800 acres of land that has been in the family since the 1880s. Their ranch begins at the Mexican border. They came to our Minuteman post requesting that Minutemen be stationed on their nearby property. Robin told me she hears gunshots every night on her ranch and has no idea exactly where it is coming from. Since the Minutemen arrived, she claims the gunshots have stopped.

The Walker family's barbed wire fence does not stop the illegal hordes from camping out in their back yard.
(click on picture to enlarge)

Recently, a drunken illegal alien wandered onto their ranch at night. She was home alone with her children. The illegal alien pounded on their front door. Robin said she and her terrified children crawled on their stomachs to the back of their house to get away from him. While retelling this event, her eyes were filled with both terror and humiliation. The family's ranch is trampled by illegal crossings. Years ago, they said their ranch was peaceful and safe; that it was rare to see illegal crossers.

The husband, Terry, said he was recently on his property and was astounded to count over 200 illegal crossers in a group nearby. He said he called the border patrol on his cell phone. He was told by the woman on the phone that it was not possible to see 200 hundred crossers because they would never cross in such a large group. As he was being told this, the 200 were crossing right before his eyes!

This ranching family thanked us profusely. They said if we needed anything — food, showers, rest — we were welcome in their home. The gruff rancher husband had tears in his eyes when he said goodbye, thanking us.

Jeff McNeil: The couple could never both leave their home. They had to take turns leaving their home to work or go into town. The other one had to remain to defend the home. They told us that this was the first time in 5 years that they had been able to sleep prior to the MP.

Back to Topics

Question: What separates the U.S. from Mexico?

Don't let this fence fool you.  It runs about 1.5 miles and then turns into broken fences like the ones featured below.
(click on pictures to enlarge)

Russell Sias: Along our southern border, there is 60 feet of public right away along the border. The barbed wire fence is two feet inside the border, and the remaining 58 feet is a gravel road on the U.S. side of the border. Ranchers and the public, along with the BP, use this road. One rancher had a big sign posted saying, "No Trespassing." When I spoke to him, I asked him, "You do understand that your sign is on public property, don't you?" He responded, grinning, "Well, it works." Outside Naco but probably within the city limits, there was a vertical railroad iron every 8 inches apart. But drive 300 yards further away from town, and you'll find the 4-strand barb wire fence. Wherever I drove along the border fence, I doubt that I saw over a 50-yard section of fence that did not have a wire cut to allow easier access across or through the fence.

Alex Segura: The barbed wire border fence is a joke; just a barbed wire fence like we use around cattle or our local farms. It's about shoulder high. Our team's section of fence, about a two-block area, had four crossing areas. The barbed wire has been stretched and cut to accommodate crossers. On the Mexican side, trails through the desert shrubs lead up to the passage holes in the barbed wire fence. Some of the holes are large enough to accommodate a pair of crossers walking hand in hand. The Mexican side is desolate except for a train track and a highway in the distance. Desert foliage was crisscrossed with paths leading to the fence.

Back to Topics

Question: The Utah media reported that there was a broiling local "controversy" over your efforts down there. How were you received?

Local citizens rally in support of the Minuteman Project.
(click on picture to enlarge)

Alex Segura: Our arrival has been controversial among the locals. There was quite a lot of talk about the Bible College. The Minutemen who stayed there said pastors in some church services, focused their talks on their gratitude for the Minutemen. One pastor asked for Minutemen to stand and be recognized. There were only about five us in attendance. The pastor then told the church people to go to us and shake their hands. But the churchgoers approached and hugged them! Some held onto them like they were a life safer! A line formed as mothers, children, old ladies, teens embraced the Minutemen. I did have locals express discord about MMP, but they were the exception in my experience.

Our night shift had said that a rancher had pulled up in his truck, emerged from the darkness, holding the hands of his two small children and thanked the Minutemen over and over. The night shift Minuteman told me that that the rancher had tears in his eyes as he thanked them. The Minuteman, who listened to the rancher and told me of the experience, is a tough, muscular, no nonsense former military guy. But when he told me this story about the rancher, he said his eyes welled up with tears too when the rancher expressed his gratitude.

Minuteman organizer, Chris Simcox, is interviewed by a KSL reporter wearing a "Vote for Pedro" T-shirt.
(click on picture to enlarge)

When a group of us were at a local cafe, a local guy came up and grilled us. Gave us his stories about his mother's property being ransacked by crossers. He then wrote down the name of a section where he asked the Minutemen to go to.

I told the locals that would give me suggestions that they should contact the leadership of MMP with their referrals. I was a peon just following the orders. If you were a Minuteman, someone would inevitably request you patrol some section. It absolutely makes my blood boil to think of government letting these hard working American citizens' ranches literally be destroyed by this invasion! I told them all that they are heroes. Most said they will never leave their ranches!

Back to Topics

Part II: How Illegals Play the Game

Question: What happens to illegals who are caught by the BP?

Typical apprehension of illegal aliens. Courtesy of americanborderpatrol.com
(click on picture to enlarge)

Russell Sias: All the BP can do with them is to keep them for the night, and then the next morning, throw them back across the border so that they could try to cross again the following evening. I spoke with one BP agent, who said that he had picked up the same fellow six nights in a row. He didn’t see him on the seventh night, so he said he assumed that he made it without getting caught the seventh night.

If the illegal is an OTM [Other Than Mexican], they ask them if they have relatives in the U.S. If they are smart enough to lie, the BP buys them bus tickets and sends them to the destination they said that they have relatives. Apparently our concerns about terrorism are not worth the time or trouble to ask further probing questions of the OTM’s.

Wally McCormick: Twenty-five to thirty percent of those who cross the border are OTMs. Most are from nations that are unfriendly to the U.S., such as China, El Salvador, Iran, Afghanistan, and Libya.

Back to Topics

Question: What were your impressions of the illegal aliens you personally encountered?

Russell Sias: I went down there with no sympathy for illegal aliens. I came back with a little empathy for the people. Not enough to prevent me from calling the BP and sending them back across the border, but some. The treatment they are getting is atrocious. The real bad guys are not the criminal illegal aliens. They are the coyotes, and the employers who ultimately fund this whole illegal process.

Wally McCormick: Most of the illegals coming here will not, and do not, intend to speak English or assimilate into our culture. They do not hesitate to state that they are taking over California, Arizona, Nevada, Mexico, and Texas and that the white race needs to leave.

Jeff McNeil: The other 25% of those coming here illegally who are OTMs are coming for purposes we don't know of. The BP told us that in 6 months time, approximately 250,000 people were caught along the southern border. They claimed to have only caught 1 in 4, which is bogus because those who are caught just come right back the next day and get in. Of those 250,000 who were caught, 18,000 are known, convicted felons.

Russell Sias: I interviewed many illegals. They saw no point in running away from the BP. They were laid back about getting caught. Their attitude was: Why work up a sweat running or attempting to hide, when it is common knowledge that they can just try again tomorrow?

Back to Topics

Question: What did the illegals do once they crossed into the U.S.?

Wally McCormick: After climbing through the fence, which has holes 3 to 4 feet wide of which their trails from Mexico lead them to, they strip from their clothing, and head to a campsite (an area in the desert that their trails also lead them to, and they discard everything including such things as Mexican ID, water bottles, backpacks, blankets etc., and rest. After their rest they walk about 1.5 miles North to Bisbee, Arizona, where all of them wait in a field while one person, or their Coyote, walks over to Safeway Market, puts in two quarters and wait for their transportation to take them to their "safe" houses.

Russell Sias: I found piles of identification in some of these dump station locations.

Wally McCormick: It is nothing to find 5-6 U.S. driver's licenses and U.S. Social Security Numbers under different names with the their same picture on all of them.

Alex Segura: Yes, and in the possession of an illegal alien.

Russell Sias: Pickups and SUVs come to get them and take them to safe houses in primarily Phoenix and Tucson. Twenty-five to two hundred may reside in one house. Within the MMP area, there is a power line running northward into the desert from the border area. Each power pole is marked with a number. Aliens are assigned a specific power pole number and are told to go there and wait to be picked up. One can find drugs, identification cards, diapers, candy wrappers, etc. there. I saw 20'x20' areas where you couldn't see the ground because of all the garbage and trash left behind by these illegal aliens.

Wally McCormick: Several hundred volunteers pick up 2 million pounds of trash each year in the Douglas/Naco 23-mile area alone. Pristine desert land is being destroyed. Where is the Sierra club?

Alex Segura: Our area was littered with many Gatorade bottles. Many, many plastic bags. Tins of foot fungicide. Deodorant cans. There were endless numbers of cans, sweatshirts, a hair brush, razors, a cell phone, a little Bible written in Spanish, many backpacks, sandals, tennis shoes, blankets, a powder puff, tuna cans, Tequila bottles, beer cans, a well used address book in Spanish. We found three one-dollar bills rolled up and covered in dirt. One of our Minutewomen found a black ski mask that is the type used by the coyotes — or smugglers of human cargo into the United States. There were many toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste. It is heart breaking to see the beautiful desert literally covered in trash. The trash is just spread all over. If you walk a few steps there is some form of trash within view. Many, many plastic bags fly on trees and shrubs. The size of bags varies from those big, black outdoor trash bags down to the small postcard sized plastic bags.

Where the hell are the environmentalists on this issue of the unbelievable amount of trash? Is there anywhere else in the United States with such out-of-control environmental destruction that gets so little environmental attention? It is perplexing.

Russell Sias: I spoke with a military police officer at Fort Huachuca. He told me that approximately 150 aliens were apprehended on Fort Huachuca every night. That is a 3-4 day walk from the border. Most of the deaths happen there. Coyotes simply leave behind anyone who cannot make the trek to die in the desert. During the winter, a six-month pregnant woman was left in one of the desert canyons — her dehydrated body was found by some one hiking in the area.

This is a wash used by illegals to minimize their profile as they invade the United States.
(click on picture to enlarge)

Wally McCormick: When they come across the mountains they frequently walk in washes and gullies [to avoid being spotted]. You can hear them if you are quiet. At one of the Stations manned by the MMP on our watch, near Sierra Vista, the MMP observed a person drive up to the foot of their hill, drop off bags, and leave. One of the MMP climbed down the Mountain and found 12 bags of McDonalds lunches. She returned to their group and they decided to continue to observe. About a half-hour later they heard illegals coming out of the mountains and directly to the McDonald's lunches. They then called the Border Patrol who came to pick them up. The agent said, "Well, we've got all 14," and the MMP lady said, "Nope, there are 15," and motioned up under the bridge where one of the illegals had plastered himself to the ceiling of the bridge. The BP said, "You're right, 15."

Russell Sias: The area patrolled by the MMP is a shopping mall of illegal aliens. An amazing number cross there. It is one of the easiest places to cross.

Back to Topics

Question: What was the extent of your involvement in apprehending illegal aliens?

Russell Sias: We called the BP, but did not apprehend anyone. One group, on one of my personal watches, came out of a gully, right at my feet! There were 21 of them in the group. None spoke English, I pulled out my cell phone, called the BP, and they all just sat down and waited for the BP to arrive.

Some BP agents were equipped with night vision and infrared. Once in a while you'd see a helicopter.

Alex Segura: There was a showing of border patrol helicopters, border patrol SUVs, sheriff vehicles, border patrol on scooters. There was a steady stream of law enforcement on this normally deserted stretch of the border. The BP warned us to film everything we did and to avoid contact with the aliens.

Russell Sias: Again, the activity that Alex described was not evident prior to the MMP kick-off date of April 1st. Rarely did I, while out on the border in January, February, and part of March see anyone. On occasion, I would see a BP vehicle or a helicopter, but I never saw any sign of local law enforcement.

Back to Topics

Part III: How Did the U.S. Government Treat You?

Question: What were your observations and impressions regarding the BP?

Jeff McNeil: Prior to the MP, the BP response time was 2-2.5 hours. They responded in less than half that time while we were there.

Wally McCormick: The BP did respond with their limited resources while we were there. The Walker family said they had never seen so many BP agents as they did while the Minutemen were there.

Russell Sias: The federal government moved 500 additional BP agents into the 23-mile zone of the MMP project because the Minutemen were there. President Bush won't tell you, but that's what happened. These were NOT 500 additional agents — they came from elsewhere along the border.

Wally McCormick: In order to better track the illegals, the BP would drag tires on the back of their SUV's to smooth out dirt roads and areas, then they could track movement by returning to the same area and looking for footprints crossing the dirt road along the border fence.

Russell Sias: They would tell us to please stay out of the barrow pit as our tracks would confuse their searches.

Back to Topics

Question: Did you ever see any planes during your service there?

Jeff McNeil: Wally and I saw only one plane, but it turned out to be a MMP plane.

Back to Topics

Question: What do you think of the actions of your government with regard to illegal aliens?

Ad recently run on a Clear Channel billboard in Los Angeles. Courtesy of americanborderpatrol.com

Wally McCormick: I have asked the Governors office, the Attorney General's office, the Homeland Security Office, and numerous law enforcement offices, and they don't have a clue as to how many illegals would constitute an invasion. I asked the ICE Office in Utah, the same question and his answer was, " We already have been invaded." The people invading our nation have a designed program to take back the states of California, Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico and Texas. They call it Aztlan. I spent some time in Los Angeles and Orange County California. They are very flagrant about that down there. La Raza and others claim to have 15 million warriors already in the U.S. at their beckon call when they are ready to take over and push the white man out. They have put up billboards that say "Los Angeles Mexico."

But you asked about our government? Yeah, right. Let me tell you about our government. Just after the project was over our government instructed the BP to "stand down" and not to pick any illegals up so that they could say the reason we were successful was because no one was coming across. Up until the day we started, they were catching 3,000 per day. Anther 12,000 were crossing that they didn't catch. A former BP agent advised me that this isn't unusual; that they alter the figures to obtain whatever they need at the time.

Russell Sias: For years, the government has been spouting the bogus number that there are 10 million illegals in the U.S. I've been at this for 10 years and there are 3 million entering the U.S. each year. The numbers do not add up! Bear-Stearns says that the current numbers are likely now over 20 million illegals in the country, and NO ONE knows how many terrorists are among them. Recently, VP Cheney stated that we don’t know who they are, we don’t know how many are here, we don’t where they are, and we don’t know what their intentions are. Some numbers indicate that 10% of Mexico’s population is in the U.S. illegally!

Jeff McNeil: We are being colonized.

Back to Topics

Question: How were you treated by your government?

Wally McCormick: Mr. Nicely, the Public Officer, blamed us for setting off alarms. It wasn't us. It was the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) people. He never recanted his false accusations. The ACLU-type folks climbed into gullies trying to catch us doing something wrong. After 2-3 weeks, most of them went home because we were law abiding. The rest hung around and smoked drugs.

Russell Sias: President Bush called us vigilantes.

Wally McCormick: The BP were not allowed to talk to us.

Jeff McNeil: Officially they weren't allowed.

Russell Sias: I spoke with every BP agent I encountered. They are absolutely harried and understaffed. Like the little boy trying to keep back the dyke with his finger. I had the opportunity to be there prior to the actual date of the project, and so the BP were not under the direct command not to communicate with the MMP people, and were pleasant to talk to about the problems.

Wally McCormick: Come our tour, they were gung-ho, giving us thumbs up signs as they drove by.

Alex Segura: There were BP supervisors who would drive around and talk to the press. They would spin a line worthy of Bush and DHS [federal Department of Human Services]. But when there were no supervisors around, the rank and file border patrol would occasionally speak to us. It was brave of them as they wear name badges. One border patrol agent told me that the Mexican "humanitarian," orange-coat guys routinely shake down the crossers. He laughed when I called them humanitarians. Another agent told me that the BP was very glad we were there. When we asked about the so-called sensors Minutemen were setting off, he laughed and said the spokesmen were saying what they'd been told to say. He gave me a thumbs-up when he drove off. They also communicated that the illegal crossing activity is very well orchestrated and run.

Jeff McNeil: The BP wouldn't even allow us on their administrative office premises. They told us that if any of us so much as set foot on that property, they'd arrest us.

Back to Topics

Question: They threatened to arrest you for entering a public area to communicate with them?

Wally McCormick: Yes. We probably should have challenged them on that, but we were there for other reasons.

Back to Topics

Question: What do you think of Pres. Bush's accusation?

Jeff McNeil: He might as well have called us insurgents and arrested us.

Wally McCormick: Did you ever hear him recant what he said? Bush could not afford for us to be successful. That is why the BP was ordered to stand down after we left. Our elected officials should step down or be removed from office. Polls show 70% or more of the Citizens demand secured borders, and our elected officials, for whatever reasons their agendas are, they have blatantly refused to do so. They have taken oaths to protect the United States and the Constitution yet they have done everything within their power to do just the opposite. It's as if they refuse to accept that the Constitution exists.

Back to Topics

Question: If you weren't vigilantes, what were you?

Russell Sias: I like the way a friend of ours put it: We were undocumented border patrol agents.

Back to Topics

Part IV: Threats by Mexican Government & Drug Cartel

Question: Your lives were publicly threatened by a Mexican drug lord being held in federal prison. Were you fearful?

Wally McCormick: Yes, he said that the M13 gang from El Salvador were going to come down and lop off our heads. It was also announced by Vicente Fox that that 1,000 Mexican soldiers were being sent to the border. We believe they [the rumors] were invented to scare us away. But you know what? We weren't nearly as afraid of what was coming across the border as we were of what might be done to us behind our backs by our own government.

Russell Sias: Drug smugglers are dangerous. They'd just as soon shoot you as ask for your name.

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Question: You knew about these rumors before you went down there, right? How did that affect you?

Wally McCormick: For me it required many prayers. At first I wasn't going to tell my family. I didn't when I first heard about the program. I was approximately the 200th to sign up. Nearing the time I told one son, and he said I have to tell the family — as this has to be a family decision. They agreed that, because of my devotion to this cause and my country, I should go.

I prepared a living will and called my family and grandchildren together and told them what I must do. It gave me an opportunity to say goodbye to each one in case I did not come back. Vicente Fox was sending 1,000 thousand soldiers to the border (not matched by American Soldiers), the Leader of the terrorist MS 13 gang put out the word to his gang to kill us, a Latino group from California was coming over, and the ACLU was coming to watch the Americans watching the illegals for the illegals' safety. They were NOT down there to make sure the American's were safe, but to see if WE stepped out of line. Only in America! Ha ha!  And I just felt that president Bush couldn't let us be successful. So, yes, I felt our lives were in great danger.

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Question: Did you witness any violence?

Russell Sias: I saw drug smugglers, but no violence.

Wally McCormick and Jeff McNeil: No.

Alex Segura: We did see a young man appear among the orange guys who had a huge rifle slung over his shoulder. The Minutemen in my group knew the rifle make and said it had a scope. This guy was in his 20s, in a tee shirt, black pants and baseball cap. No uniform. Our entire line watched him through binoculars. He would zigzag around. Talk to the orange coats. Zigzag more. Our radio walkie-talkie info finally declared they thought he was police. He eventually walked out of view over a hill. When I related the event to a local rancher who stopped by to talk with us, he told me that the guy was definitely a coyote. He also said anyone out there on the Mexican side is part of the bribery and smuggling even if they are government employees. A Mexican national farmer approached me later on horseback and stated illegal crossers only want to work. Again, we had a peaceful conversation.

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Final Thoughts: What of the Future?

Question: Who is at fault for illegal immigration?

Typical apprehension of illegal aliens. Courtesy of americanborderpatrol.com
(click on picture to enlarge)

Russell Sias: Illegal immigration is funded and enabled by employers. For example, companies like Tyson Foods say, "If you can get here, we'll give you a job." It is my understanding that Tyson actually runs an ad south of the border saying just that. Ultimately, employers are facilitated by the likes of Senator Orrin Hatch and his "DREAM Act" or Representative Chris Cannon and his AGJobs bill, that, one way or the other, enable criminal illegal alien activity – and the employers who profit from the hiring of illegal aliens.

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Question: What do you think of the guestworker amnesty proposals?

Wally McCormick: It is a slap in the face to all our immigrants who come here legally and have waited years to become citizens and have assimilated into our society. Why should those who come here illegally receive any benefits, and take away jobs from needy U.S. citizens? And why should any employer hire them without facing the consequences of the "rule of law" that includes a $10,000 fine, prison time, or both? The answer is greed. Reagan tried amnesty in 1986 and look where we are now. Bush wants to extend amnesty to 15-20 million more illegals, of which 20-30% are felons (per our own BP). There are now 6,000 known cases of leprosy in the U.S., and 12,000 cases of Tuberculosis, which America has not had in over 90 years. These diseases are carried across the border and U.S. citizens are being exposed because the carriers do not get medical checkups. And to top that off, we Americans have to pay for these medical bills. In California., 84 hospitals have had to close. I've always been taught to pay my own way. They should too.

Russell Sias: If we passed guestworker amnesty today, tomorrow employers would be out hiring new illegal workers. Employers prefer illegal aliens because they can avoid paying taxes on them. I suspect that employers really don't want illegals to get amnesty because they would then be forced to pay taxes for their services — just like the rest of us.

Wally McCormick: After 1986 when Reagan offered illegals amnesty, we had 13-15 million illegals come into the U.S. What good did the amnesty do then?

Russell Sias: You can see the spike after that point [1986]. The Mexicans say, "By golly, the next time they do an amnesty, we need to be there!"

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Question: So who is pushing for amnesty for illegals?

Russell Sias: The illegals. I suspect the employers don't want an amnesty.

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Question: How does this problem impact Utah?

This Ford dealership in Murray, Utah, proudly hoists Mexican flags. Courtesy of utahminutemen.com, which will be staging a protest of such businesses on June 17, 2005.
(click on picture to enlarge)

Russell Sias: Russell Sias: According to my understanding of what Immigration Customs Enforcement agent David Ward, who works here in Utah, has stated, 80% of crimes in the Salt Lake Valley are committed by illegal aliens. He also states that 70% of ALL construction labor in the state is being accomplished by criminal illegal aliens. It has also been stated that 60-70% of illegals in the U.S. are criminals and 20-25% are narcotics dealers.

There is the issue of the thousands of illegal aliens who voted in Utah’s last election… Because of the partial audit of voting records, there is hard evidence that they might be as many as 3400-3500 who actually voted. The audit stopped looking when they discovered that 14% of the first 100 voters they checked had improperly and illegally voted.
[Note to the reader: Accountability Utah will highlight this subject in a future article.]

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Question: Will the MMP happen again?

Pro-MMP bumper sticker.
(click on picture to enlarge)

Russell Sias: Yes, the plan is this next October. We hope others will come and join the effort.

Jeff McNeil: It is a very American thing to do.

Alex Segura: I highly recommend it. I met some great people from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, Kansas, Texans, Californians and Utahns. Most were just run-of-the-mill, salt-of-the-earth, typical hard-working American citizens.

Wally McCormick: We are organizing a Utah Minuteman Program (see http://www.utahminuteman.com) available to citizens who would like to help Utah protect what takes place within our own borders. The citizens need to be aware and ready to defend our State and Country against the present invasion. A conservative estimate places 60-90,000 illegals already in Utah.

Russell Sias: According to the recently conducted partial audit, instigated by Senators Bramble and Valentine, we have given over 98,000 driver’s licenses to people without social security numbers (read criminal illegal aliens). It is my understanding that there may be as many as 225,000 in the state presently.

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Accountability Utah recipe: Take our information and opinion, research their information and opinion (if it is available), and then examine the law and draw your own conclusions.  If you have comments or suggestions, please email us at info@accountabilityutah.org.

For more information on this illegal aliens, see the Illegal Aliens section of our Issues & Alerts page.

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