Saying the federal government needs to take steps to “strengthen our border,” presidential press secretary Scott McClellan at today’s White House press briefing said he was unfamiliar with a GOP leader in Texas who has joined the Minuteman Project – an effort the administration has characterized using the term “vigilante.”
At the briefing, WND noted Dr. Michael Vickers of the Texas Republican Committee is reported by the Washington Times to have joined the Minutemen, a civilian border-patrol group.
“Does the president still consider the Minutemen to be ‘vigilantes,’ or is he grateful for the many illegal immigrants they have helped authorities to apprehend?” asked WND.
“Well, immigration reform is a priority for this president,” responded McClellan. “He has been talking with congressional leaders about how we move forward on comprehensive immigration reform. We need to continue to take steps to strengthen our border and improve the interior enforcement of our immigration laws, and we need to move forward on a temporary worker program.
“The President had good discussions with congressional leaders about this. The leaders of the House and Senate were here, I think just a week or two ago, and that was one of the issues talked about, about how we can move forward on that. I think you’ve had comments from Senator Frist about it, as well.”
While not changing the administration’s “vigilante” characterization, McClellan stated, “The president believes very strongly that if people see suspicious activity along our borders, that they ought to report that activity to the proper authority.”
Vickers told the Times he was “very disappointed” by Bush’s characterization of the Minutemen as vigilantes. He said the comment hurt the president politically in Texas.
“I have supported every Republican from dogcatcher to president, and I am disappointed that the party can’t see or doesn’t understand the magnitude of this problem,” Vickers told the paper.
McClellan said he didn’t know Vickers and wasn’t sure if the president knew him.
