County Decree Opposes Minutemen
AP, Sept. 14
HARLINGEN, Texas — Cameron County officials passed a resolution Tuesday opposing citizen border patrols, citing respect for immigrants, confidence in federal law enforcement and a shared history with Mexico.
The resolution against “the presence of Minutemen or other vigilante groups” passed unanimously during a meeting of the Cameron County Commissioners Court in Brownsville.
“The safe and legal passage of immigrants and foreign visitors to Cameron County is important to the civic life of our county,” the resolution reads. “The future growth of Cameron County depends on the continued good will of our brothers in Mexico.”
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Al Garza, state president of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, said last week the group would come sooner to Texas to fill in for any area U.S. Border Patrol agents sent to help in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
He said there were about 50 volunteers for a Texas deployment that would stretch from ranch land about 75 miles north of the border to the border itself.
On Tuesday, Mr. Garza said the group was looking for sites but planned to come, resolution or not, starting sometime between Friday and Sept. 24.
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