Minutemen leader laments path of anti-illegal immigration group

Jim Gilchrist is the founder of the Minutemen, an anti-illegal immigration group that patrols the US-Mexico border. Under Gilchrist, they carried binoculars and reported illegal crossings to the Border Patrol.

"Minutemen" derives from the Revolutionary War. They were select teams of Colonial militia that vowed to be ready for battle against the British at one minute's notice.

Gilchrist apparently intended that the modern Minutemen be watchers of the border. However, an Orange County Register article that quotes him finds that the Minutemen have become a major perpetrator of hate crimes.

After seeing online videos that encouraged border violence amid calls to crack down on illegal immigration, the 59-year-old Aliso Viejo resident said he feels responsible for what started out as a publicity campaign and has since fallen prey to internal divisions and to influence by people he believed had "Saddam Hussein mentalities."

I'm not condoning what Gilchrist is doing. However, if we believe his public statements, it's clear that he never intended violence, and he must be credited both for that, and for his expression of regret.

It's also clear, though, that the Minutemen have attracted hate groups. Certainly, there is prejudice against Latinos. However, ILW.com, an immigration lawyers' website, contends that the anti-immigration crowd is also driven by anti-Semitism. By this reckoning, the Jews are trying to racially dilute a White Christian majority. ILW cites Stratfor, a leading source of geopolitical information. I'm unable to verify - frankly, this sounds a bit outlandish, although I'm also sure that there are indeed folks who actually believe shit like this.