Minutemen picket day labor hiring

Minutemen activists have expanded their campaign against illegal immigration from the barren desert near Mexico to the streets of Phoenix.

On Saturday morning, members of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps’ Phoenix Chapter gathered for the third weekend in a row near the Home Depot at 36th Street and Thomas Road.

They held signs reading: "No more day laborers jumping at our vehicles" and "Now you see why Border Patrol needs help."

Most had cameras hanging around their necks to take pictures of license plates and drivers picking up day laborers. The photographs, they said, would be turned over to federal immigration authorities.

Not more than 50 feet away, about 15 Hispanic men waited by a bus stop for work. They stood separately until a potential employer parked his car in a nearby spot and approached the curb.

Then the men clumped together and within five seconds the potential employer selected two men from the group. They walked past two Phoenix police officers and boarded the man’s car while the Minutemen quietly documented the transaction.

Some motorists passing by cheered in support of the Minutemen while others shouted at the volunteers and made obscene gestures.

Minutemen members said they chose the location because of its notoriety as a gathering spot for Hispanic men — often perceived to be illegal immigrants — seeking day work. Other Minutemen chapters have adopted similar tactics in recent weeks in Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Chicago, Indianapolis and other cities across the United States.

Phoenix chapter leader Stacey O’Connell said the group’s three weeks at the corner have been "extremely effective" for deterring the contentious practice that has become the center of debates among Arizona residents and politicians.

According to O’Connell, the roughly 15 volunteers have discouraged potentially illegal immigrants looking for work.

On Saturday, day laborers stood at every corner surrounding the Home Depot — except the one occupied by the Minutemen.

"Yet again, the Minutemen have proved that bodies on the line can enforce the law," O’Connell said. "And I’m sure that’s what we did. Since we are out here, there is nowhere near the number. We just pushed them somewhere else."

Carlos Velasco, who has lived in Phoenix for six months and who waits for work every Saturday, said through a translator that the Minutemen have decreased chances of finding temporary employment at the main driveway — but not the side entrances.

"It hasn’t really stopped anybody," he said, adding that he thought it was the police who slowed down their opportunities.

Phoenix police Lt. Mike Parra said the Minutemen’s first attempt was "vocal, but it was nothing that was major." He said it was the officers’ duty to "make sure everything is nice and peaceful and quiet" — not to cite drivers who pick up day laborers.

O’Connell said the organization plans on being back at the same corner every Saturday during December. Originally, the group had planned to rotate its location.

Home Depot managers declined to comment.

Sandy Doty, one of the Minutemen volunteers, said she joined the demonstration because of how day laborers make her feel in her Chandler neighborhood.

"I know in my neighborhood, I feel intimidated by groups of people standing on the street," she said. "American workers are hurting because of these day laborers. They are breaking our laws. It seems that the pickups are deterred while we are standing here. I’m sure when we walk away they start up again."

The Rev. Jose Gonzales, who oversees a day labor center in Chandler near Arizona Avenue and Pecos Road, said through a translator that his organization wouldn’t be affected by the new Minutemen campaign.

Mesa City Councilman Mike Whalen said he would be worried about a confrontation if the organization brought its campaign to the East Valley.

"They’ve made an assumption that these people that are working there are undocumented," he said. "And it just didn’t seem right that someone should go some place in the country and protest someone else getting a job without knowing who they are."