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The Fence to NowhereDavid NeiwertJim Campbell was a contractor before he became an Arizona retiree, so he happens to know a little about getting construction projects completed. He also happens to be avidly involved in efforts to stem what he and thousands of others see as an unholy tide of illegal immigrants streaming over the U.S.?Mexico border. So when the Minutemen--those "citizen watchdogs" who have been setting up vigilante border patrols throughout the Southwest--announced plans to build a fence along a section of the Arizona-Mexico border, it seemed to Campbell like a good time to step up and make a difference. A couple of years later and $100,000 lighter, Campbell's not so sure it was a good idea. In fact, he calls the people running the Minutemen's border-fence project "a bunch of felons." When he first contacted the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps (MCDC)--the most prominent of the two major Minutemen organizations and the sponsors of the fence project--in early May 2006, he was enthusiastic about his vision: "miles and miles of steel!" Campbell offered to donate $100,000 immediately so the Minutemen could buy steel posts--the first step in building an "Israeli style" security fence--and install them in time for the groundbreaking ceremony. He took out a loan on his home and wired the money to the MCDC's parent organization, the Washington, D.C.-based Declaration Alliance. Campbell was told his was the largest single donation out of the thousands that were pouring in for the fence project. Read the rest of the article. |
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