Militia members from Texas to California are lending a hand to Border Patrol and the US military as thousands of Central American migrants steadily make their way to the U.S. border to ask for asylum.
As Texas Minutmen president Shannon McGauley sits in a lawn chair with binoculars, he is adamant that they are not vigilantes, they are there strictly to observe and report.
“We have UAV drones that we’re flying with thermal and heat capabilities,” said McGauley. “Border patrol—they’re like anybody. They want to make sure you’re not going to make their job harder. And, once you prove that you’re not, then they don’t mind having you around.”
Reportedly, almost 6,000 troops have been deployed along the Southwest border, with about 1,500 of them in California.
McGauley believes the attention in Tijuana is just a diversion and that migrants will soon begin attempting to cross the border in Texas. He tells KTRH that another group from the caravan is forming around Matamoros and expects them to try and pull a fast one over Americans. They see illegal immigrants who are testing the weak points along the border.
McGauley points out there’s only razor wire near the ports of entry, nothing in the rural areas, so Border Patrol agents are left to fend for themselves.
He said the Texas Minutemen were the original militia group formed in 2005 to help watch 1,700 miles of the border.
“You have a lot of people that are helpless because they don’t want to go against the cartel and the cartel basically runs things in the lower Valley. Especially in the McAllen and Donna area,” said McGauley.
He said landowners from McAllen to Del Rio have called him asking for his group to help them protect their properties.
McGauley will be back on the border again Friday morning to observe and collect data.