Posted on 06/13/2005 8:47:28 AM PDT by SwinneySwitch
GOLIAD — Even in South Texas, these pickups stand out in the sheriff's impound lot. There are just too many to ignore.
Not so noticeable are the mats or tarps discarded in the beds of the 50 or so trucks; they were used by undocumented immigrants to hide underneath on their journey north.
Each vehicle here marks a failed attempt, and lately, there have been a lot of them.
Historic Goliad County, 200 miles from the border, again finds itself at the center of a war — not against the Mexican army, but against undocumented immigrant smuggling.
Sheriff Robert DeLaGarza said smugglers literally are overrunning his deputies, using a backcountry road to avoid detection.
The problem has become so severe that disgruntled ranchers who live on FM 2441 in the small Sarco community, about 8 miles south of here, have banded together to form a loose militia.
"This has just blossomed into an immense situation where it's out of control," said one rancher, who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution. "It's a stampede of people."
The ranchers complain southern Goliad County has become a major drop-off point for undocumented immigrants being smuggled inland.
They said the county's geographical position nearly halfway between Houston and the Mexican border has made it an ideal destination.
The county sits at a crossroads of two major highways: U.S. 59 and alternate U.S. 77.
As a result, the ranchers said, immigrants are dropped off there to trespass on ranches until they are picked up for the second half of their journey. Several encampments have been found amid the brush, littered with discarded clothing, water jugs and food boxes.
"There's a potential here for a major situation to occur," said Daphne Buelter, who lives on FM 2441. "Somebody is going to get hurt."
Ranchers on the Farm to Market road said they fear for their safety, knowing the smugglers who travel on the two-lane road are organized criminals.
"It's an industry," Buelter said, "and they're playing for keeps."
The ranchers said the smugglers often travel in caravans, with a lead car serving as a lookout and the rear vehicle as protection. The smugglers are known to carry guns.
The ranchers complain the caravans zoom through their backcountry roads at high rates of speed, and, when confronted, will go to desperate measures to avoid capture.
Even more alarming to some county residents is that immigrants being smuggled into the country are not just Mexicans. Deputies have detained immigrants from Central and South America and even some from overseas.
During one recent stop, the Sheriff's Department detained more than 10 Chinese immigrants.
"If they are coming from China, if they are coming from that far away, then they can come from any country," the sheriff said. "Something is not working. By the time they get to us, they are very well inside the state of Texas."
Buelter and her neighbors have begun meeting monthly at the local community center, demanding more action from law enforcement groups. Three sheriffs, a county judge and Border Patrol agents all have attended the meetings in the past.
None have been able to provide a solution.
Gov. Rick Perry's office responded to the Sarco residents' concerns last month, writing: "While we understand that you are concerned, please note that border control and immigration are the responsibilities of the federal government."
Though the ranchers are frustrated with such responses, they said they would not be deterred.
"We know we're on an uphill battle," said Kyle Metting. "We're not going to go away. We're not going to keep quiet."
DeLaGarza said he understands the ranchers' concerns, but doesn't have the manpower to combat a problem that is better handled on a federal level.
"It's almost a daily occurrence, and it's pulling me away from the daily duties that I have in this town," he said, adding his deputies are the main law enforcers in the county because the city of Goliad doesn't have a police department. "We are just doing the best we can."
Despite the shortage of manpower, his deputies have almost filled the department's impound lot with pickups, vans and other vehicles seized from coyotes, or human smugglers. On a recent check, there were about 50 vehicles.
"It's a drop in the bucket compared with what's going through," DeLaGarza said.
Just this past week, on Thursday, five vehicles were added to the impound lot.
The sheriff said smugglers have become so brazen that they have even run through barricades at the scene of a fatal accident on FM 2441 to avoid capture. He said deputies almost were run over.
Other times, DeLaGarza said, smugglers attempted to outrun deputies on the road, and some have even tried to ram patrol cars off the highway.
Deputies once were forced to shoot at a pickup.
"We're going to run into the immigration problem, it's not like we're out there looking for it," DeLaGarza said. "It literally runs into us every day."
The group of Sarco ranchers warned if authorities don't stem the flow of immigrants, then they would put out a mat of their own, this one welcoming the Minutemen Project, a civilian patrol group, to Goliad County.
"We've been nice to this point, and we want to continue that way, but if you keep banging your head against the wall, you're going to get mad," Metting said.
As for the Sheriff's Department, officials there said there is one good thing that has come about as a result of the surge in immigrant smuggling in Goliad County.
Plenty of sturdy pickups are available for sale at public auction.
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jzarazua@express-news.net
Bravo Sierra!
Border Ping!
Please FReepmail me if you want on or off this South Texas/Mexico ping list.
My backyard my problem. Hardcore NIMBY. Post signs that violators will be detained and held for INS.
Do the Texas Rangers even exist anymore or are they just a bunch of desk jockeys with badges?
Disgraceful response. Bravo Sierra indeed!
What about the National Guard?
ATTN SENOR BUSH. Your help is needed in TX. Isn't this your state?
I wonder how many people wanting to use soldiers for border patrol are under the impression that the soldiers will just walk along the fence line.
Border guards operate quite a distance from the border and their roadblocks stop all cars, not just those driven by illegals. "Papers please" from a uniformed Army Sargent isn't my idea of America.
A country over-run by illegal aliens from the South is not my idea of America Bayou.
But I never see the anti-illegals calling for local and state governments to put more resources into anti-gang measures.
Held for INS? Wow what a threat that is. If they are OTMs then the INS will give them a ride to the bus station. If of course the INS even shows up. I am sure that our Presidente will give this situation the prompt attention it deserves.
Largely because you take care of the illegal problem the gang problem takes care of itself.
Not pc to say what is needed to.
Your are such a silly sounding guy. We all know what you want. Open borders. Why don't you renounce your citizenship since you put no value on it? Just more poor people from the south to exploit is that it swamprod?
.../sarc
So, you just want the invasion to continue.
What a pathetic waste of your rights.
You are not a patriot. I'm having trouble believing that someone as disgustingly agressive about complying with the invasion that's going on, is actually an American.
Why don't you stop your pathetic attempt on every single thread showing how bad this situation is getting, to try to dissuade people from actually paying attention? This is our country we're talking about. These people are willing to run over police trying to help at the scene of a fatal accident. The Sherrif is getting 5 or so trucks on a regular basis. This is NOT a game. It's time for the hammer to come down and those of you who are on the other side will find yourself shut out of the arguments. Enough is enough.
Go crawl back under your rock. You are an insult to America.
Paul
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