I agree with alot of what you are saying with some exceptions. In the first place, where these ranchers live, you try to find gringos...Americans, to ride those fences, fix them, run cattle. They dont exist. They wont do it. Few of the hands are from here. Many of the ranches in the hill country are huge and run by widows. The workers are honest and hard working ...if they could find more americans to work the ranches they would hire them. And when they do.they do hire them. They are few and far between. Most of the young men from that area grow up and leave for cities.
I live in cattle country....and I'd bet > 97% of the hired cowboys are Americans.
I'd guess your "friends and family" don't want to pay them what they'd have to pay an American. And even then...that ain't much.
And WHY in the HELL...would one of your "friends and family" have a hired ILLEGAL for 20 years...AND NOT HELP HIM BECOME LEGAL!!!!
I call B.S.
I live in an extremely remote area on the border- more remote than any ranch in Texas. There are some very large and many small ranches here- it is cattle country. The ranches here do not hire illegals and they find plenty of cowboys to get the work done. Any rancher that cannot find cowboys needs to look in the mirror and figure out why. I know why, my family and friends have cowboy’d for years. Those that hire illegals do not want to pay a living wage or have a livable house or treat people like slaves. No one is working on a ranch for the money but you at least have to have enough to live on and raise a family.
Ranches here hire almost all citizen cowboys and a few with work permits, I don’t know of one that hires illegals. Anyone that hires illegals is stealing from the taxpayer- illegals cannot live on paltry wages either so they supplement their income by the taxpayers making up the difference. There is always a reason to break the law- whether it is robbing banks or hiring illegals.