about this story

Britt Craig works quietly and alone. Parked overlooking the U.S.-Mexico border near Campo, CA, he spends long nights in his modified Chevrolet truck on the look out for migrants or smugglers. When it’s cold he stokes a tiny wood stove for warmth. When he sees something suspicious, he juggles three cell phones to make sure he will get a shred of signal.

Three years ago, Craig battened up his boat, a 30-foot cruiser that was his home in St Augustine, FL. He was heeding a call to join the nascent Minutemen Project near Douglas, AZ. He has not left the border since.

Craig attended the first Minuteman 'muster' in Arizona in April of 2005. It was an event that thrust the conflicted and internally quarrelsome group onto the national stage. The Minutemen quickly became heroes to the anti-immigrant movement, as well as enemy to human rights activists. Founders Jim Gilchrist, an accountant and U.S. Marine Corps veteran, and Chris Simcox, a former kindergarten teacher, inspired several hundred volunteers from all over the country to "arm themselves, come to the border, and defend the country". Craig says that the type of high-strung personalities that were drawn towards the project, were equally responsible for the divisions that were created in the first months of its existence. The organization has since split into two independent groups. Gilchrist heads the Minuteman Project, and Simcox the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps.

Most volunteers that attended the April muster went back to their regular jobs and their far-flung lives. Craig moved to California and kept patrolling the border full-time, eventually forming the Campo Minutemen, a collaboration between Craig - code named Kingfish - and several other lone wolves, with code names like Gadget Dan, and Radar.

Critics often categorize vigilante border patrol groups - in particular the Minutemen - as racist organizations. In this story, Craig expresses what motivates him to make a stand against illegal entrants, and explains how time spent volunteering on the border is something he believes he owes to his country.

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