'Minuteman' Patrols Subject of Next Immigrant Rights Project Discussion April 4
March 27, 2006
Contact: University Relations
Phone: 410.837.5739
For more than a decade, the southern border of the United States has resembled a militarized zone, with organized U.S. Border Patrol raids, fortified checkpoints and sophisticated tracking equipment all focused on stopping illegal immigrants from entering the country from Mexico. Alongside these mandated activities, armed vigilante groups have patrolled the terrain in relatively limited numbers. But last April, a new group called the “Minuteman Project" entered the national media spotlight when several hundred recruits gathered in Arizona to patrol the border.
A year later, the Minuteman Project is now operating in immigrant communities in Virginia and Maryland. The movement appears to be growing, even as the nation’s immigration policy is in flux.
On Tuesday, April 4, the University of Baltimore School of Law’s Immigrant Rights Project and the American Friends Service Committee’s Project Voice will present Rights on the Line: Vigilantes at the Border, a video on the Minuteman Project and its effects on border communities and immigrant populations. The documentary will be shown at 6:30 p.m. in the M. Scot Kaufman Auditorium in the William H. Thumel Sr. Business Center, 11 W. Mt. Royal Ave. The event is free and open to the public.
Rights on the Line details the politics behind the Minuteman Project and shows the continuum between official border militarization and vigilante action. The video, shot by human rights activists and residents of border communities, relates the story of border tensions from the point of view of those affected and reveals the underlying motivations of the vigilantes through interviews and footage of their nighttime patrols.
Part of the School of Law’s Civil Advocacy Clinic, the Immigrant Rights Project is designed to assist low income immigrants with direct services, work with immigrant advocates to develop empowerment programs, and provide students with an opportunity to contribute to social justice issues concerning immigrants.
Questions about this event may be directed to Helen Harnett, UB School of Law clinical fellow, at 410.837.5732.
The University of Baltimore is a member of the University System of Maryland and comprises the School of Law, the Yale Gordon College of Liberal Arts and the Merrick School of Business.