One Texas rancher says it’s time to show Americans what the border crisis really looks like.
John Saunders, a rancher near Laredo, Texas, told Fox News’ “America Reports” on Wednseday that there’s “a real problem down here.”
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Saunders told host John Roberts that migrants and human smugglers cross the border and cause “consistent property damage” nearly “20 times per year.”
Saunders explained those causing the damage are “mostly human traffickers” smuggling migrants into the country. “They take the back seats out of those trucks, they’re made to look like … regular ranch vehicles, they tint the windows and they fit as many people in the back as they can.”
The rancher explained one of his properties is on a highway and close to the river, making it a prime location for trespassers.
“When they’re getting chased by law enforcement, these usually human smugglers, they’ll just turn off the highway, at full speed mind you, and just go straight through the fence, straight through the gate, whatever it is, and go until they can’t go anymore, then they all bail out and they’re all running across the property.”
According to Saunders, they are able to do that because border patrol agents and other law enforcement, if alone, are required to “stop and wait for backup” before pursuing further.
Saunders explained “that gives them a few minutes to flush like a covey of quail, and disappear into the South Texas brush which, as many people know, the South Texas brush is pretty thick. Elton John could put on a colored suit and [play] his piano and still hide back there.”
Saunders’ remarks are revealing. President Joe Biden’s Jan. 20 order to stop the construction of the southern border wall system has left miles of the border unprotected, allowing drug cartels and human traffickers to come and go freely.
That, combined with law enforcement protocol requiring present backup, clearly makes maintaining border security difficult.
Saunder’s story parallels the largest spike in enforcement encounters Customs and Border Protection has recorded in years. In February alone, 100,441 enforcement encounters took place, contributing to a total of 396,958 encounters since last October. Unsurprisingly, many of these encounters are with human traffickers.
While Saunders said he has “never really had an issue” as far as feeling unsafe on his property, he shared his story to show the damage being done at the border.
“Ninety-nine percent of these people are beautiful people just looking to, to better their lives and, you know, create a better life for their family, the same as you and me,” he said. “But when you’re having a picnic out by the lake at the ranch … it ain’t good to think about having a high-speed chase come down the pipeline right by you either.”
The rancher said the “monetary issue … adds up,” explaining the wreckage in some of the pictures he provided “cost five, six thousand dollars in repairs.”
“[I]t’s happening 15, 20 times a year, three times in one day at one time. So it really adds up.”
Saunders said he believes the government should redirect part of its $86 million fund to put illegal immigrants in border hotels toward his repairs, saying, “We feel left out and unheard. Ostracized, in a way.”
“I speak for a lot of landowners that way. I mean, these costs add up, it happens all the time. It’s time to open the curtain and let people see what it’s really like down here.”
Saunders is right. Biden has spent two months avoiding, ignoring and discounting the border crisis he created through his own policy.
Some landowners, like Saunders, may not feel the danger of human traffickers on their property, but the same cannot be said for others who travel armed to feel safe on their own property.
Biden is indirectly attacking border communities and families on all sides, whether it be personal safety or property damage, and he needs to address it.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
