Border's neighbors warily positive about minutemen

NACO, Ariz. — Don't tell Gerry Eberwein that illegal immigration isn't an issue.

For the past 31 years, he's lived on 8.5 acres at the southwest corner of this unincorporated border town, 60 feet from the 14-foot-tall wall that marks the border with Mexico. Lights used by U.S. Border Patrol to spot illegal immigrants illuminate his property at night. His windows are guarded by fortified steel bars.

The deterrents have worked. He had nine break-ins before the wall dividing Naco, Ariz., and Naco, Sonora, was built in the mid-1990s. He says he hasn't had any break-ins since.

Eberwein actively lobbied for the wall that currently spans some three to four miles, something he says — along with a strong Border Patrol presence — has helped deter crime in his community, where he at one point didn't feel safe without a gun. The wall is now being expanded, to cover areas of the border now lined with barbed-wire fence.

Some who live near the border support a civilian border patrol currently under way.

Eberwein is among those who aren't convinced the Minuteman Project is the right way to work for change.

"They've gotten the necessary attention to bring this to a talking point in Congress," he said of the project, which is watching a 20-mile stretch of Arizona border this month. About 1,000 volunteers from across the nation are signed up to participate.

Eberwein worries that while the project has been quiet so far, there is still a potential for violence. He's also concerned about his potential liability as a homeowner if something should happen on his property.

"These people from across the U.S. could help out a lot more if they raise these issues with their own congressmen," he said. "That seems to be part of the problem, Congress is unwilling to make any changes."

The minutemen, including Darrel Wood of Price, say they're trying to bring attention to a problem they say Congress has ignored.

Some who live near the border say they support the Minuteman Project but won't join their ranks for fear of possible retaliation after the out-of-towners leave.

"These people will all go home in 30 days," Fred Giacoletti said. "We're going to be left here on the front lines."

Giacoletti and his wife, Robyn, live on the outskirts of Bisbee, near the border. They say that with swarms of people trekking through their property each day, "that's the front lines."

Fred Giacoletti said the Minuteman Project is having a positive impact. "For the last three days we have not had 300 to 400 people trampling through our property.