Minutemen Gaining in Immigration Debate

Laurie Lisonbee worried about illegal immigration but figured it was somebody else's issue — until she saw hundreds of thousands of immigrants and their supporters marching across her TV screen.

Soon, Lisonbee had recruited several friends to attend a demonstration by the Minuteman Project, a volunteer group that patrols the border to keep out illegal immigrants. Now, the 51-year-old art professor checks the group's Web site daily and plans a summer trip to the Mexican border to help build a fence.

Minuteman organizers say this spring's marches have proved to be an unexpected recruitment tool for Americans who feel uneasy about the burgeoning immigration movement but may have considered the organization a pack of gun-toting vigilantes.

"We're not trying to be more mainstream — mainstream has found us," said Stephen Eichler, the group's executive director. "They're saying, 'These guys actually have teeth, they don't all chew tobacco, they don't all have a gun rack in the back of their truck.' They're saying, `They believe what I believe,' and they're joining us."

Gillian Flaccus