Film: Vigilantes On The Border

RIGHTS ON THE LINE: VIGILANTES ON THE BORDER
Friday, July 28, 2006, 7:30
Quaker Meeting House
225 Rooney St, Santa Cruz, 95060

"Rights on the Line: Vigilantes at the Border"
exposes the ugly anti-immigrant politics that
lurk behind the Minuteman Project - and shows the
continuum between official border militarization
and vigilante action. This video was shot by
human rights activists and residents of border
communities. It tells the story of border
tensions from the point of view of those affected
and reveals the underlying motivations of the
vigilantes through interviews and disturbing
footage of their nighttime patrols.

For more than a decade, the southern border of
the U.S. has resembled a war zone. Aggressive,
military-style actions by the Border Patrol have
made human rights abuses everyday events in
border communities. Alongside this official
militarization, armed vigilante groups have
harassed border crossers and communities, but
their numbers were relatively limited until
recently. In April 2005, a new group called the
“Minuteman Project" became a national media
darling when several hundred recruits gathered in
Arizona to patrol the border. Only months later,
they are expanding their activities into
California, Texas and several other states
throughout the country.

Leaders of the Minuteman Project have been very
skillful at portraying themselves as no more than
a well-meaning "neighborhood watch group." They
have been featured on many major television and
radio programs and have been welcomed by the
governor of California. Their racism and
xenophobia are rarely explored, nor their
legality publicly challenged. In the coming
months, it is essential that opposing voices be
heard and actions taken to counteract their
growing influence.

Produced by American Friends Service Committee / ACLU / WITNESS.


For more information, contact the Resource Center
for Nonviolence, 831-423-1626; or Sheila Payne,
831-469-3306


Hosted by AFSCME 3299 and the Resource Center for Nonviolence
Co-sponsors: La Liga de la Comunidad, ACLU Santa
Cruz Co., Pajaro Valley & Santa Cruz Women's
International League for Peace and Freedom