The Minute Men of Maryland, vigilantes who travel to the U.S. border with Mexico to track illegal immigrants, are active in Howard County and trying to raise awareness of how undocumented workers affect the Baltimore metropolitan area.
“We are all in favor of legal immigration,” said Chuck Sehman, 55, of Ellicott City.
“But right now you have people coming illegally.”
The Maryland chapter of the Minute Men Civil Defense Corps has about 100 members, some of whom have made the trek to the Arizona border to track illegal immigrants.
“You sit in your lawn chair, and you?re watching over the desert,” Sehman said.
“When you see someone crossing the desert, you call into the Border Patrol. Sometimes the Border Patrol comes and picks them up. Sometimes they don?t.”
Mount Airy resident Linda Lewis, another member of the group, said the Minute Men are concerned with the health and treatment of undocumented workers.
“We?re concerned with the health of the illegal immigrants because the employers can get away with mistreating them,” she said.
“We?re also concerned with the negative impact that illegal immigration has on business, like landscaping companies. The ones who hire illegals can have a much better price than ones who don?t hire illegals. They are putting them out of business.”
Steven Schreiman, the Maryland director of the Minute Men, said his group does not consider themselves police officers.
“We do not arrest anybody. We?re not policemen,” he said.
“We just consider ourselves a national neighborhood watch. We have a strict policy of no confrontation.”
He said people should attend the forum to learn more about the issue.
“The issue?s important, because it?s affecting the economic, security and quality-of-life in our local community,” he said.
IF YOU GO
» What: Minute Men of Maryland forum on illegal immigration
» When: 7 to 9 tonight
» Where: Howard County VFW, 4225 VFW Lane, Ellicott City
» The event will feature Alan Tonelson, research fellow of the U.S. Business & Industry Council and consultant to CNN anchorman Lou Dobbs, and Paul Mendez, a labor market economist and founding member of Washington D.C.?s Workforce Organizations for Regional Collaboration.
