Minuteman Civil Defense Corps

Using the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps as a case study, this work explores the emergence and recent proliferation of civilian border patrol groups at the U.S.-Mexico border. The link between the emergence of these groups and an increasing criminalization and securitization of immigration on the one hand, and globalization and its associated forces of political and economic liberalization on the other hand, are analyzed. It is argued that these changes have transformed the security landscape in such a way that this form of citizen activism is not only tolerated, but arguably even encouraged.