(12-05) 04:00 PST Jacumba, San Diego County — 2005-12-05 04:00:00 PST Jacumba, San Diego County -- Smack up against the steel-plate border fence, a crew calling itself the California Minutemen huddled around its makeshift sandbag bunker to plan the night's strategy for stopping illegal immigrants.
The eight men and one woman, led by former Marine and retired postal worker Jim Chase, strapped on binoculars and side arms and fanned out in the dry, rocky hills of eastern San Diego County.
"Our goal is to show the people of the United States that you can shut an area down," Chase said of the border. "But it's more about sending a message. We're getting the attention of the legislatures." The group's communication hub was 56-year-old Britt Craig, a disabled Vietnam veteran like Chase. Craig was the only member whose cell phone got a signal. Anyone who spotted migrants or drug smugglers was to radio him, and he would phone the Border Patrol.
Civilian border watch groups have drawn attention to the 1,952-mile Mexico-U.S. border and illegal immigration ever since hundreds of volunteers came to monitor the Arizona border in April. More than 20 much smaller spin-off groups have stationed themselves this year from San Diego to south Texas and at spots near the Canadian border.
How effective the patrols have been at shutting the border or keeping out illegal immigrants remains an open question. Group leaders claim on their Web sites and in e-mail newsletters to have reported thousands of illegal immigrants to the Border Patrol. Local news reports tallied fewer than 100.
Border Patrol officials have discouraged the groups from patrolling at all. Grassroots opposition to them has been vociferous. And in early October, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean charged that the Minutemen "spread fear and hatred in America."
That criticism has come from many corners, and patrol groups have tempered their message and featured Mexican American members in publicity material. On Tuesday, Jim Gilchrist, co-founder of the original patrol group and leader of one of several current factions, will compete in a special election to represent coastal Orange County in Congress. He placed third of five candidates in the September primary running on the single issue of immigration reform.
Volunteers retired, committed
