Migrant Stumbles Into U.S. Militia 'Hornet's Nest' Sun Apr 3, 2005 05:52 PM ET
NOGALES, Ariz. (Reuters) - A civilian militia in Arizona seeking to stop illegal aliens coming in from Mexico claimed its first immigrant when a hapless Guatemalan wandered into the group's base camp seeking help.
A spokesman for the controversial Minuteman Project, which has rallied hundreds of volunteers to join a month-long vigil on the border, said on Sunday a Guatemalan migrant unwittingly walked into the camp.
The volunteers then handed him to the Border Patrol.
Apparently lost and desperate for food and water, the man headed for a Bible college on Friday in Palominas, just north of the Mexican border, unaware it was being used for a militia base camp.
"He inadvertently wandered into the hornets' nest," Minuteman spokesman Fred Elbel told Reuters.
"But it turned out to be his lucky day," he added. "He was tired and dehydrated and we gave him medical attention, food and drink before handing him over to the Border Patrol."
The U.S. Border Patrol had no immediate comment.
Organizers of the Minuteman Project, which takes its name from American Revolution militia, said volunteers would stake out a 20-mile stretch of the border with Mexico and report illegal aliens to the Border Patrol.
The volunteers, including retirees and housewives from as far away as California and Maryland, begin their patrols on Monday and will continue until April 30.
President Bush calls them vigilantes and the Mexican government has warned it will file civil suits against any who lays a finger on Mexican nationals during the exercise.
The Arizona Border Patrol also says the militia is not welcome and has warned them that volunteers risk confrontations with increasingly violent drug and people traffickers.