Minutemen and Desert Samaritans: Mapping the Attitudes of Activists on the United States' Immigration Front Lines

While the immigration attitudes of those in societal and ethnic minority groups have been well documented, the attitudes of immigration activists on specific issues have seen little systematic study. This article reports the findings of surveys on US immigration and trade-liberalisation policy conducted with members of the civilian border-patrol Minuteman group, and border humanitarian groups such as Samaritans and No More Deaths. Previous surveys have found relatively high levels of support for the Minuteman effort in US border states. This study finds significant divergence on actual attitudes between such activists and non-activists, the majority of whom in both groups reside in Arizona, the border state with the highest reported traffic of unauthorised immigrants. Survey findings also suggest that the relationship between attitudes toward immigration and trade liberalisation is more complex than has been presumed. The specific provisions of liberalisation agreements, in particular those on labour and the environment, can play a major role in determining support for them, including support from those with strong attitudes on related issues such as immigration.