Minuteman Project facts for kids

The Minuteman Project is an organization started in the United States in August 2004. It was created by a group of people who wanted to watch the United States–Mexico border. They aimed to observe people crossing the border without permission.

Jim Gilchrist and Chris Simcox founded the group. Its name comes from the Minutemen, who were citizen soldiers in the American Revolution. The Minuteman Project described itself as a "citizens' Neighborhood Watch on our border." It gained media attention because of its focus on border issues.

Besides watching the border, the Minuteman Project also worked to influence laws. They supported politicians who wanted stronger border security. Members believed the government was not doing enough to protect the country's borders. They strongly supported building a wall and having more border patrol agents. They also wanted more military personnel along the Mexico–United States border. Many members did not support programs that would allow people who entered without permission to stay. They also opposed sending money to Mexico for its improvements.

History of the Minuteman Project

First Border Watch Efforts

In early 2005, Jim Gilchrist and Chris Simcox gathered over 1,200 volunteers. These volunteers took part in the first border watch. For one month, they guarded a 23-mile part of the Arizona-Mexico border. They counted people who approached and reported them. They also tried to prevent people from crossing by making their presence known. Many volunteers came from Utah. They later formed the Utah Minuteman Project (UMP). This group worked to raise awareness about border security through local media and public discussions.

The T-shirt Incident

On April 6, 2005, three Minuteman Project volunteers met a 25-year-old immigrant. They asked him to hold a T-shirt and pose for a photo and video. The T-shirt read, "Bryan Barton caught me crossing the border and all I got was this lousy T-shirt."

A volunteer, Bryan Barton, met the young man when he was not on patrol. He then called the Border Patrol. He gave the man $20 as the U.S. Border Patrol arrived and took the man into custody. Some people criticized this event. However, an investigation by the Cochise County Sheriff's office found no wrongdoing. Both the Border Patrol and the Mexican consul agreed that no crime had happened. The ACLU later shared a statement about this incident.

Garden Grove Protest Incident

On May 25, 2005, Jim Gilchrist spoke in Garden Grove, California. He was speaking to the California Coalition for Immigration Reform. Hal Netkin, who worked with the Minuteman Project, arrived at the event. Demonstrators surrounded his car. Police Lieutenant Mike Handfield said some of the 300 demonstrators were there to cause trouble. He claimed they threw cans of soda and marbles. Lt. Handfield said it was reasonable for Netkin to drive forward through the crowd. Two people in front of Netkin's car fell and went to the hospital. The police then declared the gathering illegal. Lt. Handfield stated that the protest became violent. However, Jan Tucker, who was with other leaders, said the crowd outside was peaceful.

Stopping Aid on the Border

In January 2006, the California Minutemen's actions helped stop a program. This program was run by Humane Borders and the Mexican government. It aimed to give over 70,000 maps to migrants. The maps showed water stations, rescue beacons, and places where deaths had occurred. They were meant to help prevent deaths and injuries, not to encourage illegal entry. However, a spokesman for Mexico's National Human Rights Commission said giving out maps would show the Minutemen where migrants would be. He said they needed to rethink the program to avoid putting migrants at risk.

Fake Video Incident in 2007

In August 2007, the Southern Poverty Law Center reported on two videos. These videos seemed to show a fake incident involving an alleged immigrant and two Minutemen. The videos appeared briefly on YouTube but were quickly removed. In the video, a figure was shown at night, and two voices made comments.

A few days later, Minuteman representatives said the videos were fake. They claimed members of another group, the Mountain Minutemen, made them. Robert "Little Dog" Crooks, who admitted making the video, said he did it to express a political opinion. He said he was bored and wanted to comment on an immigration bill. Minuteman Project leader Jim Gilchrist later banned his group from working with the Mountain Minutemen because of this video.

Support for the Minuteman Project

On April 28, 2005, the governor of California at the time, Arnold Schwarzenegger, praised the Minuteman Project. He said they were doing "a terrific job" during a radio interview. The next day, he repeated his support. He said the Minutemen would be welcome to patrol the border between California and Mexico.

Other supporters included the Council of Conservative Citizens and radio hosts Sean Hannity and Michael Savage. Tennessee radio host James Edwards also supported the group.

During the 2016 United States presidential election, discussions about building a border wall and deporting people aligned with the Minuteman Project's goals. Jim Gilchrist felt his goals were being achieved. He saw widespread awareness about immigration issues. He first supported Ted Cruz for president. Cruz had criticized Barack Obama's immigration policies.

Internal Challenges

Some members of an advisory board for the Minuteman Project, Inc. tried to take control of the organization's bank account. They also temporarily took over its main website. Jim Gilchrist filed a lawsuit in Orange County, California. He sued three people who claimed to be board members: Marvin Stewart, Deborah Courtney, and Barbara Coe.

Stewart, Courtney, and Coe claimed they were the official board of directors. They said they had fired Gilchrist for various reasons. However, Gilchrist had fired Stewart and Courtney first. Instead of accepting this, Stewart and Courtney filed papers saying they were the board.

Stewart and Courtney faced another lawsuit from the Minuteman Project. At one point, they could not afford lawyers and had to represent themselves. The trial began on January 4, 2010. On February 5, 2010, a judge ruled that Stewart and Courtney were legally fired from the Minuteman Project, Inc. on February 2, 2007. The judge found that the meeting where they were fired was properly held. The court also ruled that their earlier attempts to fire other board members were not valid. At the February 2007 meeting, Barbara Coe resigned. Stewart and Courtney were fired. The judge ruled they were no longer board members after that date. He also ordered them to remove any websites making false claims. They were also told to return any Minuteman Project property they had.

This ruling confirmed Jim Gilchrist's position as the head of the Minuteman Project, Inc. and its new organization, Jim Gilchrist's Minuteman Project, Inc.

Observers and Reports

Various media groups, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and observers from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) watched the Minutemen volunteers. In November 2006, the ACLU released a report. It said that many newspapers had "wildly exaggerated" the number of volunteers. This was about the group's operation in southeastern Arizona in April 2005.

People who claimed to be Minuteman Project board members said they removed Gilchrist as head. They made claims of fraud and financial problems. However, a representative from the Delaware Secretary of State told the Los Angeles Times that only Gilchrist could make such changes. In May 2007, Gilchrist stated, "I'm the President and always was. I got the corporation back. I have the right to the web site, the bank account, everything. We are back in the same position as we were prior to the hijacking." A judge issued a temporary order. It stopped the board members from spending Minuteman Project donations until Gilchrist's lawsuit was settled. In April 2007, Gilchrist announced a new non-profit group. It was named Jim Gilchrist's Minuteman Project, Inc.

See also

In Spanish: Proyecto Minuteman para niños

• Border Film Project