Patriots or vigilantes? Florida’s Minutemen on lookout for illegals

Fields is one of about 300 Floridians who have joined the controversial Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, the national group that seeks to end illegal immigration. Recently, he and three other Florida members spent from a few days to a full month in the Arizona desert, looking for Mexicans and other foreign nationals crossing illegally into the U.S.

There are Minuteman chapters in Central Florida, South Florida and North Florida. Members tend to be middle-aged, politically conservative, strongly pro-military — and predominantly non-Hispanic white.

“There’s a lot of interest,” said Bill Landes of Haines City, the group’s director for North and Central Florida. “These are people who love their country.”"*

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