Civilian border group targets illegal hirings outside store

Dec 4, 2:59 PM EST

Yuma Sun

MESA, Ariz. (AP) -- Members of a civilian border patrol group gathered on a street corner outside a Phoenix home improvement store in hopes of deterring people from hiring the illegal immigrants who gather nearby.

Volunteers of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps' Phoenix chapter carried cameras so they could document the hirings and plan to turn over their photographs to federal authorities.

Federal law prohibits people from knowingly hiring the thousands of immigrants who sneak across the border each year. Arizona is the busiest illegal entry point along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border.

Minuteman volunteers patrolled a stretch of southern Arizona desert earlier this year with the aim of helping authorities catch illegal immigrants and smugglers. The Minuteman movement has conducted similar patrols elsewhere in the country.

During the last three weeks, group members have stood near the home improvement store in eastern Phoenix. Other Minuteman chapters have adopted similar tactics in recent weeks in Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Chicago, Indianapolis and other cities across the United States.

In Phoenix, some motorists passing by cheered in support of the volunteers, while others shouted and made obscene gestures.

Phoenix chapter leader Stacey O'Connell said the group's efforts near the store have been effective in deterring illegal hirings.