New Mexico ranchers frustrated with situation along U.S.-Mexico border

KOB-TV 4, Albuquerque ^ | January 27, 2019 | Chris Ramirez

[CedarDave]

HIDALGO COUNTY, N.M.- There are so many voices, all of them important, in the national debate about border funding.

Tribal politics has pitted the country into “us versus them.” This very debate has also paralyzed the federal government in the longest shutdown in our country’s history. But ranchers who live and work in New Mexico’s Boot Heel feel like their voices haven’t been heard on this issue, even though border issues affect their daily lives.

New Mexico’s Boot Heel sits in Hidalgo County, wedged between Arizona and Mexico. The county shares 87 miles of its boundary with Mexico and there is no border wall in Hidalgo County.

“We have to get the word out that we have a crisis down here,” Tricia Elrock told the KOB 4 Investigates team during a recent visit to Hidalgo County. In fact, our visit prompted an impromptu town hall by ranchers who wanted to tell us what they were seeing on a daily basis.

“It's not getting any better, it's getting worse and there is now an influx of people," said Billy Darnell. “We know something is going to happen every day we go out.”

KOB 4 asked if any of them had been victimized by people who they believe to be undocumented immigrants. All but one raised their hands to state yes.

“We've had vehicles stolen,” said Randy Massey.

“They've had bundles of weed, coke and carrying heavy artillery,” said Cammi Moore.

“The worst part of it, we had an employee kidnapped. And that was probably the worst night of my entire life until we got him back,’ said Elrock.

“It's getting to the point where these confrontations are getting more aggressive and more and more violent,” said Kris Massey.

Part of the problem, as the ranchers see it, is the lack of barriers between the U.S. and Mexico. In parts of Hidalgo County, the countries are separated, in some places, by Normandy barriers.

Normandy barriers are a series of 3 -5 feet high steel cross jacks that would deter a motorist, but humans could easily go under or over them. The boundary with Hidalgo County and Mexico is separated by a 5-foot high barbed wire fence. In some areas, there are gates that easily open.

Ranchers told KOB 4 that drug smugglers often open those gates and drive drugs into the U.S.

In the last few weeks, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection has sent news releases out that illustrate the ranchers' concerns. On January 16th, U.S. CBP reported that a group of 247 migrants turned themselves in near the Antelope Wells Port of Entry in Hidalgo County. Two days later, U.S. CBP released night video showing a group of migrants jumping over the Normandy barriers. Many, if not all, of the migrants are asylum seekers.

The ranchers believe the real problem is the drug smugglers.

Lack of help

When a crime occurs on ranch land, they call the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office for help, but the sheriff admits help is not always available.

“The citizens aren't protected," said Hidalgo County Sheriff Warren Walter. “We need to have more manpower.”

The Sheriff’s Office only has four working deputies to cover 3,500 square miles.

“With my four officers – days off, vacation time, sick leave-- we can't cover 24 hours a day,” said Sheriff Walter. “We are basically 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. at night. That's the best I can do. In my honest opinion, that's not fair to the citizens of the county.”

And when a deputy is at the border responding to a crime, that leaves the rest of the county unmanned. The situation is so desperate, the Hidalgo County Manager wrote a letter to the governor and Senators Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall, begging for more assistance.

Hidalgo County Manager Tisha Green wrote in part, “we feel there is an imminent threat to the safety and welfare of our citizens in Hidalgo County. Resources such as medical, law enforcement and sanitation are amongst those most needed.”

“The calls I get from citizens, they state there are people in their backyards, they are seeing several on a daily basis, and people are breaking into their homes, stealing different items. They feel like they are not safe, not protected” Green told KOB during an interview, in response to her letter.

Ranchers and Hidalgo County officials hope the state can help fund more deputies. They also want Santa Fe politicians to see what they are seeing. In early January, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham visited the Santa Teresa Port of Entry in Dona Ana County and said she didn't see a crisis.

“While I've been to this area of the border many times, I haven't seen anything that indicates that we have an emergency crisis here at the border and that's important to talk to New Mexicans about and I also think it's important to talk to the nation about.”

The governor’s words deeply offended the ranchers.

“The asinine idea that these politicians spout out that ‘oh our border is secure, there is not a crisis here.’ For them, there is not. They live in Washington or they live in Santa Fe and they only come here to secure ports. It's a crock. And it's absolutely insulting to the people who live down here," Kris Massey stated during an impromptu town hall.

In response to the ranchers' thoughts, the governor’s spokesman sent a statement:

“There is not an emergency crisis at the border that warrants the asinine and anti-American anti-immigration tactics endorsed by the president and his minions; that’s the proper context for the governor’s remarks, and the full story of what she was expressing. No doubt, as she mentioned many, many times at the border, and as I’m sure you mentioned to these ranchers, one of her key priorities is doing the work to ensure the public safety of New Mexicans, making data-driven decisions instead of political decisions, and the chance to begin to identify what is working and what is not working was one of the key rationales for her visit to the border. That was made abundantly clear in her remarks at the border. What will not work is a wall; what isn’t working currently is treating asylees like criminals. That is what she meant by that comment, and one would hope these folks can see the context in which it was presented, and the governor recognizes their concerns.” -- Tripp Stelnicki, spokesman for Gov. Lujan Grisham.

For those living in New Mexico’s Boot Heel, they don’t really care about the politics of the border.

“It's not about Democrats or Republicans here, it’s our lives here,” Elrock stated.

For them, they just want more help. They want more local law enforcement. And they would like the federal government to come up with a plan that stops the inflow of illegal drugs onto their lands.

[CedarDave]

Please scroll down to the bottom of the post to read the words from a spokesman for our newly elected Democrat progressive radical governor. They indeed are deeply offensive to law-abiding citizens everywhere.

Also, below is a response to an earlier post from Tammy8 who lives on the border in the area mentioned:

These large groups are coming in down here in the bootheel...same area near Antelope Wells. We have a barbwire cattle fence on the border here with vehicle barrier on both sides of the Port of Entry. The only real border fence there is around the Port of Entry. The large groups cross illegally then when apprehended by Border Patrol they say the magic word asylum so they can stay. These groups are treated very much like the Cubans used to be...feet on our soil along with the magic word and they are likely here forever. Those that do not qualify will be long gone when that is determined. Every group arrives with people who need medical attention, where they are arriving there are no medical services. Ties up a lot of our Border Patrol processing them and transporting them for medical and out to holding facilities. While Border Patrol is tied up with them the drugs come in, and illegals who have no intention of claiming asylum.
Man With Flesh-Eating Bacteria Among Group of Migrants Detained at U.S.-Mexico Border

[CedarDave]

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[hattend]

But hey! Good News! New Mexico elected a commie who wants the state to be a sanctuary state.

[shelterguy]

“There is not an emergency crisis at the border that warrants the asinine and anti-American anti-immigration tactics endorsed by the president and his minions;

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just think, not too long ago you could get shot for treason for saying something like that.

[proust]

Well, at least Trump didn’t cave.

Meanwhile:

“A man among a group of migrants detained in a desolate part of New Mexico near the border with Mexico has been diagnosed as infected with flesh-eating bacteria, the U.S. Border Patrol said Friday”

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3722994/posts

[Openurmind]

It truly is a war zone.

[foreverfree]

Bump

[jeffc]

How does a sheriff have 3500 square miles to cover? I thought sheriffs were county only. And who do the citizens call after 10 pm?

[polymuser]

Leftists/proggies/rats want a war. It is unavoidably obvious now.

The entitlement-takers that vote for them had better know that they’ll lose much when it happens. Not if, when.

[Bernard]

If the property owner wanted to take out a government loan to build a Trump style wall, and the government instituted a debt forgiveness program after X years, I would be interested in hearing the details,

Sounds like a better use of taxpayer money than a debt forgiveness program to fund a college degree in Sociology or Art History. Or Racial Studies.

[tiki]

She wants to curtail our access to guns, she wants to kill babies, I’m sure she’ll raise taxes.

So, if she makes NM a sanctuary state am I allowed to break any of the new laws to be if I don’t like them.

[Ciaphas Cain]

The rural county I grew up in North Carolina had almost a thousand square miles and it wasn’t the biggest in the state by far. Over 3500 for counties in Texas and New Mexico isn’t inconceivable.

[gcparent]

Start there build a wall 87 miles. What’s that cost?

[thecodont]

It truly is a war zone.

More than that: It is another country, with its own amorphous borders and laws and loyalties. It can be likened to Kurdistan, which straddles Turkey and Iran and Iraq and Syria. This country has borders within which its protected "citizens" feel safe.

Look at the people within the U.S. physically but not protecting U.S. borders, they are citizens of this country.

[asinclair]

Remember the GoFundMe for building a wall? Instead of having the government build the wall, the residents and landowners can build their own wall, on their own land, with choke points that the border patrol can monitor. And just as dams have salmon ladders, the walls can have openings small enough to keep humans from passing, but large enough for wildlife.

We don't need the government to do this. With proper crowd funding, the land owners can do this. And it sounds like they might be interested.

[EinNYC]

That Gov. Lujan Grisham sounds like a completely reprehensible skank who cares a lot more about pleasing her dummocrap puppet masters than serving the people. Serves them right for electing such a piece of garbage.

[Tammy8]

I am just happy to see we are finally getting the word out, the groups began to cross in late September/early October before the media zeroed in on the first “caravan” that got all the attention. The early groups were 30-50 people every few nights. That pace has picked up, there have been 25 groups of over 100 in a group. At times the groups come every day or every other day now. The last group we know about a few days ago had over 300. Those crossing are telling BP they ride buses from Central America; 5 days to Antelope Wells. Has to be real organized for sure.

As you can see from what you posted our new governor does not want to hear it, doesn’t suit her agenda. How did you like the professional response her aide sent to those contacting with concerns? This state is far too busy trying their best to become a sanctuary state and take everyone’s firearms to worry about the border other than to say Trump is wrong.

We are fighters though and so we will continue to fight. Several ranchers have invited reporters to come, stay at their homes for a guided tour. Many have taken them up on the offer, and the articles I have read have been pretty fair, far more than I expected. The main surprise of the reporters is that there is no real border here. That and how remote it really is. They soon find their cell phones don’t work. That is an eye opener to those who thought they knew what is going on. Wonder how many of them remember President Obama’s speech when he said the border fence was finished as they are looking at miles and miles of barbwire cattle fence?

[Politically Correct]

How does a sheriff have 3500 square miles to cover? I thought sheriffs were county only. And who do the citizens call after 10 pm?

Counties are bigger in New Mexico.

[SaxxonWoods]

I knew to stop reading after one sentence, but I read the next.

[SaxxonWoods]

But wait! I went back and read further and the article didn’t go like the intro indicated. I wish the ranchers luck.