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Minutemen strips away the mythology shrouding the reality of America's immigration crisis. Jim Gilchrist, a former Marine and retired CPA from southern California, began his second career as an immigration activist upon learning that most of the 9/11 hijackers had violated U.S. immigration laws. Frustrated by years of our government's failure to enforce our laws, he started the Minuteman Project, a grassroots effort to supplement Gilchrist found a kindred spirit in Dr. Jerome Corsi, the Harvard Ph.D. who, along with John O'Neill in their best-seller Unfit for Command, broke the John Kerry "swiftboat" scandal. The thoroughness of Minutemen distinguishes it from other books on immigration. It is covers many aspects of the immigration issue that escape media scrutiny. For example, the notorious street gang Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), which resembles the Mafia in its viciousness and ability to intimidate law-abiding citizens, is composed mostly of illegal aliens. MS-13 used to be a regional southern California phenomenon, but the gang is now a national plague. It has even gained a foothold in faraway cities such as Fairfax, Virginia. Many MS-13 members have been deported numerous times, only to reenter the U.S. again after a brief siesta south of the border. The burden that illegal aliens place on social services and the potential for Middle Eastern terrorists to slip over the border undetected are just two major problems covered by Gilchrist and Corsi with thorough documentation. The authors demonstrate great tenacity in unearthing the true motivations of the opponents of immigration reform. Why, for instance, do labor union leaders support illegal immigration even though an influx of unskilled workers willing to be paid less than the minimum wage would surely depress the wages of union members? What motivates political leaders to beat around the bush on immigration despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of Americans want something done to stop the flow of illegal aliens from entering the country? In interviews with authorities on both sides of the immigration debate, Gilchrist and Corsi reveal not only who is lining up against border enforcement, but also why. Minutemen is brutally honest, but like the Marine Gilchrist whose story it tells, it should convince readers that Americans who are not cowed by the establishment can change things for the better. This book offers a welcome reprieve from the Newspeak that has characterized the immigration debate. (World Ahead Publishing, Los Angeles, 2006, 375 pp., $25.95) |
the understaffed Border Patrol along the U.S.-Mexico border and raise Americans' awareness of immigration dangers. In ten days of operations, the Minutemen all but shut down a 23-mile stretch of the southern U.S. border, proving that border security is largely a matter of political will.
