“Future generations will inherit a tangle of rancorous, unassimilated, squabbling cultures with no common bond to hold them together, and a certain guarantee of the death of this nation as a harmonious ‘melting pot.’ The result: political, economic and social mayhem.” The Minutemen Project believes that this will be the future of the United States if we do not stop undocumented immigrants from coming to this country. For those unfamiliar with the group, the Minutemen, while calling themselves a “Citizen’s Vigilance Operation,” are really a vigilante group, patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border with loaded guns and threatening anyone who might possibly be an undocumented immigrant.

It was with this xenophobic and bigoted message that Jim Gilchrist, founder of the Minutemen, came to speak at Columbia University two weeks ago. Gilchrist was to speak about his newest book, Minutemen: The Battle to Secure America’s Borders, which warns Americans of the “immigrant threat.” As Gilchrist took the podium to speak after a 40 minute speech by another member of the Minutemen, several students came onto the stage, unfurling one banner that read “No One Is Illegal” in English, Spanish and Arabic, and another proclaiming, “Say No To Racism!”

Energized by this anti-racist action, students in the audience stood up and began chanting in support of the protesters. The protest turned violent as members of the Minutemen began assaulting the demonstrators, with one member kicking a Latino demonstrator in the head. Unwilling to speak to such an unfriendly audience, Gilchrist voluntarily left the stage as his followers continued to battle with the pro-immigrant demonstrators.

Immediately following the event, the Minutemen began to cry “free speech,” claiming that protesters denied the Minutemen their constitutional right to freedom of speech. Mainstream media outlets joined in as well, claiming that free speech is now “under attack” at Columbia.

What all these people seem to be forgetting is what the First Amendment really protects. The right to free speech simply means that Congress cannot make any laws abridging free speech. What the First Amendment does not guarantee is the right to use a university building to spew racism to a large group of students. Simply being invited by a small group that is part of a much larger campus does not suddenly change what rights the First Amendment does, and does not, guarantee.

Beyond that, the Minutemen already excercise their right to free speech. They have a website, an e-mail list, a radio program and numerous books. Beyond that, the Minutemen are given the opportunity to address the public regularly in the mainstream media, appearing on networks like Fox News and CNN to argue their anti-immigrant position. The people that truly don’t have free speech are the undocumented immigrants. Where are their opportunities to advocate for their position on CNN or debate on the O’Reilly Factor?

Particularly hypocritical are the denouncements of the student actions by President of Columbia Lee Bollinger and New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg. Both publicly decried the pro-immigrant protesters, with Bollinger going so far as to say the protest was “one of the most serious breaches of academic faith that can occur in a university such as ours.”

Neither man seemed particularly concerned about “free speech” before this event. In 2004, Bloomberg denied free speech to thousands of people when he rejected permits to protest the Republican National Convention. In the same year, when Middle Eastern Studies professors at Columbia came under attack for their political views, Bollinger rejected the claim that it was an issue of free speech, saying at a meeting of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, that “the First Amendment does not apply to the university, because it is a private institution. It can choose its policies for how to treat faculty utterances.”

Regardless of their public statements, the Minutemen are not really concerned about their free speech “rights” being abridged. What they desire is an environment where they are not challenged. When Jim Gilchrist was invited on Democracy Now to speak with student protester Karina Garcia about the events at Columbia, he refused to discuss the issues. After Gilchrist had been asked a few questions, host Amy Goodman asked Garcia for her take on the events. Once Garcia began speaking, Gilchrist decided to end the interview, and abruptly hung up. Gilchrist and his organization are only supportive of discourse when it doesn’t disagree with them.

This isn’t an issue of free speech, because the Minutemen are not just a group that talks about immigration. As Garcia explained on Democracy Now, “This isn’t an organization with ideas. These are people with guns.” They stand on the border with loaded rifles, prepared to shoot anyone who looks “illegal.” The problem with this policy is that you cannot tell if someone is a U.S. citizen or an undocumented immigrant by sight. So, the Minutemen just bully anyone who might be undocumented, which amounts to harassing any Latino unlucky enough to encounter them. The group, while claiming to be unaffiliated with racist groups, has ties to neo-Nazi groups like the National Alliance. The Minutemen are not simply an advocacy group. They are a group that actively spreads racism, violence and hate.

The Minutemen are just one example of the far-right extremism that has become emboldened in recent years. These groups do not care about free speech or any of the other rights that we are supposed to be guaranteed by the Constitution. Rather, they seek to push their intolerant agenda on the rest of the world. None put it better than protestor Monique Dols, who said, “the Minutemen are trying to silence that movement through fear, intimidation, a whipping up of racist hysteria and outright violence. But immigrant workers have worked too hard and waited too long for equal rights and dignity. Our movement will not be silenced.”

Laura Taylor is a senior in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. She can be contacted at lat34@cornell.edu. Kind of a Big Deal appears Tuesdays.