Border volunteers plan vigil in New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A spinoff of a controversial civilian border patrol group plans to monitor crossings of illegal immigrants along the U.S.-Mexico border in New Mexico this weekend, its leader said Friday.

The New Mexico Minutemen plan to send about 40 volunteers to the border. They will offer food, water and medical aid to illegal immigrants, while also reporting their presence to the U.S. Border Patrol, said Clifford Alford, the group's leader.

"If someone breaks down on the border, we can help them," Alford said.

Alford's group is an offshoot of the Minuteman Project — another group that drew international attention in April when volunteers participated in civilian patrols along Arizona's southern border.

President Bush expressed his opposition to "vigilantes," and many people on the Mexican side of the border referred to the volunteers as "migrant hunters."