Head Minuteman Faces Tough Questions from College Students

The head of the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps told students at Belmont University this morning that the 9-thousand volunteers patrolling the U-S borders are humanitarians. Chris Simcox came to campus at the invitation of Belmont College Republicans.

He said the minutemen have performed 315 lifesaving missions on the Mexican border while monitoring the flood of illegal immigrants.

“These students need to understand that it’s about American values. We welcome immigrants, but we also have a moral obligation to protect immigrants. They should not be dying in the desert. They should not be exploited for their cheap labor. They should not be living in the shadows with no protection under the laws. We need to fix that problem.”

That humanitarian message didn’t win Simcox many friends at Belmont. A group of professors had already questioned whether the event should be considered an ‘academic lecture’ which allows students to receive convocation credit for attending (corrected). As security guards watched, students asked harsh questions of why the minutemen are calling for the U-S to militarize its borders.

Simcox says a military presence would cut off the flow of drugs and cheap labor coming through Mexico. Belmont political science major Lindsey Herren says it would just lead to violence.

“If you want to fight crime in the United States, then you have to put money into education programs and community building programs in an effort to fight poverty so people don’t turn to this type of economic solution to their poverty. I just find it ridiculous that militarizing the border is a solution to crime.”

In part the trip was to recruit manpower for the border, but a stack of pamphlets about the minutemen went virtually untouched. Simcox speaks again tonight at Middle Tennessee State University.