"We are simply United States citizens who are concerned by what we see happening on the border both in terms of increased violent criminal activity and in the possible erosion of basic civil rights," New Mexico Minutemen Security Chief Clifford Alford said. "If we see something going on that's illegal, we'll report it."

"We don't condone any of these groups," he said. "None of them are officials of the U.S. government. We will monitor the situation. Our mission is to protect the United States and we do not allow any of these groups to detract from our mission."

Other perspectives abound. Leo Samaniego, sheriff of El Paso County, said that the Border Patrol should have enough manpower to handle undocumented immigration from Mexico. But because they don't, the Minutemen are taking an active approach to encourage change, he said.

"It's enlightening to know that there are still people in this country who get tired of hearing the same story of the endless stream of illegal aliens coming in," he said. "Do I want them on the border? I don't think so. But as a last resort, if nobody's doing anything other than talk about what they're going to do along the border, then, by God, I think they should come here."

The rulers of Mexico have always been Spanish, or what we might call, Castilian. They are indeed Caucasian, but they are very few in number. Today they make up less than 10 percent of the total population of over 106 million people. The indigenous groups (Mexican Indians) total about 30 percent of the population, and the predominant group, the famous “mestizos” (mixed Indio-Caucasian), comprise about 60 percent.

The mestizos, of course, represent most of the Mexican population migrating (legally or illegally) into America. They definitely do not appear white, but nor do they appear Indian. The 2001 estimate put 40 percent of the Mexican population below the poverty line. Most of what Americans see immigrating, particularly illegally, are in this sector.

Now, Presidente Vicente Fox, son of a wealthy Irishman (who was living in Guanajuato) has shown “exemplary” (should we say, typical?) concern for the Mexicans: he’s pushing them all out of the country, just as fast as they can cross the borders. He offers them nothing within Mexico, but instead claims they have a right to be American. A real patriot he is, Presidente Fox, for all nations concerned.

And it seems the Mexican immigrants don’t care anything about Mexico, either. And they don’t care about the United States. They have become a mass of expatriated orphans, unwanted where they were, and unwanted where they are. This is tragic.

Zeayadali Malhamdary, 39, an Iranian with permanent resident status in the United States, is accused of trying to buy phony Mexican visas so that three Iranians could fly into Mexico before being smuggled across the border. He was indicted Tuesday...

Malhamdary, owner of Palez Tailoring on Baseline Road, bragged to an undercover FBI agent that he had smuggled as many as 60 Iranians into the United States using fake Mexican visas, according to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court of Arizona.