Minuteman Civil Defense Corps

Last updated

Minuteman Civil Defense Corps
Leader Chris Simcox
J. T. Ready
Dates of operationApril 1, 2005 – March 22, 2010
Active regions Arizona, California and Texas United States
Ideology American nationalism
Libertarian conservatism
Survivalism
Size900 Volunteers

The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps was a volunteer group at one time headed by Chris Simcox (an Arizona newspaper publisher) and dedicated to preventing illegal crossings of the United States border with Mexico. Arguing that the government was insufficiently concerned with securing the border, [1] they organized several state chapters, with the intention of providing law enforcement agencies with evidence of immigration law violations. [2] The group was one of several that emerged for the proliferation of civilian border patrol groups at the US-Mexico border. Arguably, the emergence of these groups can be linked to the increasing criminalization and securitization of immigration. Simcox stated that the group merely reported incidents to law enforcement, and did not directly confront immigrants. There was a standard operating procedure (SOP) that was to be followed by Minutemen volunteers, with rules including not speaking to, approaching, gesturing towards or having physical contact in any way with any suspected border crossers. [3] According to Anthony Ramirez of the New York Times , the organization "has been criticized as being a right-wing militia". [4]

Contents

History and activities

Chris Simcox founded the Civil Homeland Defense organization, being the first antecedent of the group to patrol the borders, but were disbanded after his first arrest. April 1, 2005, the group renaming the group Minuteman Civil Defense Corps was a militia organization concerned with border security that invokes the image of Revolutionary War militiamen and traces his motivation to "protect the american borders",ready at a moment's notice to fight for America's freedom. Although the majority of the group's members are Caucasians, some Mexican Americans work to patrol the borders as well, deeply the organization's call to protect legal immigration as a measure to protect American society and resources, approximately 900 volunteers patrol a twenty-three-mile section of the Arizona-Mexico border. [5] [6]

The MCDC is often confused with or thought to be affiliated with The Minuteman Project Inc., but the two groups are wholly distinct. The militants have been accused of racial profiling, however, approaching persons of color, asking whether they speak English, asking where they live, and questioning them while not quizzing Caucasians in the same areas. [7] The group was originally co-founded by American neo-Nazi, J. T. Ready. [8] [9]

The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps web site spells out a "standard operating procedure" for Minutemen, which includes directives such as "Minutemen are courteous to everyone with whom they come into contact, and never discriminate against anyone for any reason." The group holds up an American ideal as part of its appeal for volunteers; illegal immigration is portrayed as the reason for the loss of high-paying manufacturing jobs, health care crises in emergency rooms on the borders, education problems in border state districts, and other socio-economic problems. [10]

Arrested members

The first time that Simcox was arrested by federal park rangers on a stretch along the Arizona-Mexico border. Simcox was armed with a single pistol, police scanner radios, and was charged with a misdemeanor, subsequently serving a year on probation. His principal objective was clear, stop the illegal Mexican border crossings. [11]

On March 15, 2010, Minuteman Civil Defense Corps President Carmen Mercer sent an e-mail to the group's members in which she stated,

"For eight long years we Minutemen played nice; yet for the past eight years we firmly expressed our opinions and desires for the border to be secured. This muster will be completely different. President Barack Obama and John McCain have left us no choice. This March we return to the border locked, loaded and ready to stop each and every individual we encounter along the frontier that is now more dangerous than the frontier of Afghanistan."

After receiving what she described as a "dramatic" response from members who promised to return to the border armed, Mercer called for the dissolution of the group on March 23 citing her concern of being held responsible should members fail to follow the proper "rules of engagement". [12] [13]

On June 8, 2016, Minuteman Civil Defense Corps co-founder Chris Simcox was found guilty of child molestation, [14] and on July 11, 2016, was sentenced to serve 19.5 years in an Arizona prison. [15] One of the founders J.T. Ready had twice been caught in 2011 forcibly detaining immigrants, [16] and was under investigation by the FBI, who were looking into a potential domestic terrorism situation involving immigrants found shot to death in the desert. [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Border Patrol</span> U.S. federal law enforcement agency

The United States Border Patrol (USBP) is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and is responsible for securing the borders of the United States. According to its web site in 2022, its mission is to "Protect the American people, safeguard our borders, and enhance the nation’s economic prosperity."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Migrant deaths along the Mexico–United States border</span>

The United States border with Mexico is one of the world's "most lethal land borders". Hundreds of migrants die per year as they attempt to cross into the United States from Mexico illegally. The US Border Patrol reported 251 migrant deaths in the fiscal year 2015, which was lower than any year during the period 2000–2014, and reported 247 migrant deaths in fiscal year 2020, lower than any year since 1998. Poverty, gang violence, poor governance, etc. are the main factors as to why migrants cross the US border. US Border Patrol recorded 557 southwest border deaths during fiscal year 2021 and 748 in the first 11 months of fiscal year 2022, the most deaths ever recorded.

Immigration reduction refers to a government and social policy in the United States that advocates a reduction in the amount of immigration allowed into the country. Steps advocated for reducing the numbers of immigrants include advocating stronger action to prevent illegal entry and illegal migration, and reductions in non-immigrant temporary work visas. Some advocate tightening the requirements for legal immigration requirements to reduce numbers, or move the proportions of legal immigrants away from those on family reunification programs to skills-based criteria.

Minutemen were civilian militia units during the American Revolutionary War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minuteman Project</span> American activist organization

The Minuteman Project is an organization which was founded in the United States in August 2004 by a group of private individuals who sought to extrajudicially monitor the United States–Mexico border's flow of illegal immigrants. Founded by Jim Gilchrist and Chris Simcox, the organization's name is derived from the name of the Minutemen, militiamen who fought in the American Revolution. The Minuteman Project describes itself as "a citizens' Neighborhood Watch on our border", and it has attracted the attention of the media due to its focus on the issue of illegal immigration.

James Walter Gilchrist Jr. is an American political activist and the co-founder and president of the Minuteman Project, an activist group whose aim is to prevent illegal immigration across the southern border of the United States.

Chris Simcox is the American co-founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps (MCDC), the project's main spokesperson, and a convicted sex offender. In June 2016, Simcox was convicted of child sexual abuse and is serving a 19.5-year sentence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mexico–United States border</span> International border

The Mexico–United States border is an international border separating Mexico and the United States, extending from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border traverses a variety of terrains, ranging from urban areas to deserts. The Mexico–U.S. border is the most frequently crossed border in the world with approximately 350 million documented crossings annually. It is the tenth-longest border between two countries in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 United States immigration reform protests</span>

In 2006–2007, millions of people participated in protests over a proposed change to U.S. immigration policy. These large scale mobilizations are widely seen as a historic turn point in Latino politics, especially Latino immigrant civic participation and political influence, as noted in a range of scholarly publications in this field. The protests began in response to proposed legislation known as H.R. 4437, which would raise penalties for illegal immigration and classify illegal individuals and anyone who helped them enter or remain in the US as felons. As part of the wider immigration debate, most of the protests not only sought a rejection of this bill, but also a comprehensive reform of the country's immigration laws that included a path to citizenship for all illegal immigrants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great American Boycott</span> 2006 protest

The Great American Boycott, also called the Day Without an Immigrant, was a one-day boycott of United States schools and businesses by immigrants in the United States which took place on May 1, 2006.

Ranch Rescue was a volunteer organization that claimed to assist American ranchers and other owners of property near the United States-Mexico border in the protection of their property. The organization claimed that the protection was necessary due to 88 by unauthorized border crossers, who it called terrorists. It also claimed that the federal government has willfully and intentionally failed to protect property owners.

No More Deaths is an advocacy group based in Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona, United States, that seeks to end the series of fatalities of undocumented immigrants crossing the desert regions near the United States-Mexico border. Volunteers for the organization provide food, water, and medical aid to people crossing the US-Mexico border through the Arizona desert and offer humanitarian aid to people in Mexico who have been deported from the US.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-Mexican sentiment</span> Discrimination

Anti-Mexican sentiment, is prejudice, fear, or hatred towards Mexico and people of Mexican descent, Mexican culture and/or Mexican Spanish and it is most commonly found in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CASA de Maryland</span> Immigration organization in MD, USA

CASA is a Latino and immigration advocacy-and-assistance organization based in Maryland. It is active throughout the state, but has major foci in Prince George's County, Montgomery County and Baltimore. CASA influences Maryland politics on a wide range of policies, ranging from law-enforcement to education. It also has offices in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murders of Raul and Brisenia Flores</span> Father and daughter murdered in Arivaca, Arizona, U.S.

On May 30, 2009, 29-year-old Raul Flores Jr. and his daughter, nine-year-old Brisenia Ylianna Flores, were murdered during a home invasion in Arivaca, Arizona. The perpetrators were Shawna Forde, Jason Eugene Bush and Albert Gaxiola, all members of Forde's vigilante nativist group, Minutemen American Defense (MAD). Gina Gonzalez, the victims' wife and mother, was wounded but survived the attack after exchanging gunfire with the intruders, wounding Bush.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arizona SB 1070</span> 2010 border security legislation in Arizona

The Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act is a 2010 legislative Act in the U.S. state of Arizona that was the broadest and strictest anti-illegal immigration law in the United States when passed. It has received international attention and has spurred considerable controversy.

Jason Todd Ready was an American marine, founder and leader of a border militia group and a member of the neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement who sought the elected office of sheriff of Pinal County, Arizona. On May 2, 2012, at Ready's home in Gilbert, Arizona, he shot and killed his girlfriend, her daughter and granddaughter, the daughter's fiancé and himself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Streamline</span>

Operation Streamline is a joint initiative of the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice in the United States, started in 2005, that adopts a "zero-tolerance" approach to unauthorized border-crossing by criminally prosecuting those perpetrating it. Up to 70 people are tried at the same time, sometimes wearing shackles in the courtroom. Entering without inspection is a misdemeanor, and re-entering after deportation is a felony.

Border Angels is a San Diego-based 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit charitable organization that is focused on migrant rights, immigration reform, and the prevention of immigrant deaths along the border. Border Angels, along with its more than 2000 volunteers serves San Diego County's immigrant population through various migrant outreach programs such as day laborer outreach and legal assistance, and provides life-saving assistance for migrants by placing bottled water in remote mountain and desert border regions of the San Diego and Imperial counties, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arizona Border Recon</span> American paramilitary militia group in Arizona

Arizona Border Recon (AZBR) is an American paramilitary militia group in Arizona composed of former military, law enforcement and private security contractors.

References

  1. ↑ "About Us". Archived from the original on July 5, 2006. Retrieved July 9, 2006.
  2. ↑ "MM Brochure" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on July 19, 2006. Retrieved July 22, 2006.
  3. ↑ "Standard Operating Procedure for Minuteman Civil Defense Corps". Archived from the original on October 16, 2006. Retrieved October 12, 2006.
  4. ↑ Ramirez, Anthony (June 4, 2006). "Angry Exchanges, To and Fro, at Rally". NY Times. Archived from the original on August 23, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Minuteman Civil Defense Corps". Encyclopaedia. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  6. ↑ "Exige México indagar detención a cargo de vigilantes en Arizona". La Jornada. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  7. ↑ Gilchrist, Jim (November 7, 2007). "The Minuteman Project is a separate and distinct organization". Immigration Headliner News. Archived from the original on January 9, 2008.
  8. ↑ Walker, Hunter. "Minuteman Founder Doesn't Want To Be Confused With Alleged Murderer". Politicker. Archived from the original on May 5, 2012. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  9. ↑ "INVESTIGATING DEATHS OF UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS ON THE BORDER". Southern Poverty Law Center .
  10. ↑ Ellingwood, Ken. (2004). Hard line : life and death on the U.S.-Mexico border (1st ed.). New York: Pantheon Books. ISBN   0-375-42243-9. OCLC   53331742.
  11. ↑ The Secretary second stage: Re-thinking the department of Homeland Security´s organization and policY direction: Part I and II. DIANE. ISBN   9781422323755 . Retrieved June 26, 2020.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  12. ↑ "Minuteman Civil Defense Corps announces dissolution/ March 31, 2010 / Sonoran News". Sonorannews.com. March 31, 2010. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
  13. ↑ "Top Minuteman group announces breakup". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  14. ↑ "{title}". The Washington Times . Archived from the original on June 8, 2016. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  15. ↑ "{title}". Reuters. July 11, 2016. Archived from the original on May 1, 2017. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
  16. ↑ "J.T. Ready". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  17. ↑ Nick R. Martin (May 4, 2012). "FBI Targeted JT Ready In Domestic Terrorism Investigation". Talking Points Memo. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.