Minuteman Project
The Minuteman Project is an initiative by a group of private citizens to monitor the border between the United States and Mexico for the entry of illegal immigrants. Participants in the project, which began in April 2005, hope to help prevent illegal immigration by alerting the US Border Patrol to attempts by immigrants to cross the border.
The project generated considerable controversy; opponents attacked it as vigilante justice, while organizers sought to reassure opponents that the group would only be reporting incidents to law inforcement, not directly confronting immigrants.