Trip to the Border
Dear Friends,
I just returned from a weekend on the border. It was incredible! And as for all this talk in Washington about homeland security?they are all lying to us. It doesn?t exist.
We were fortunate to have as our guide, Larry Vance, a life long resident of Douglas, AZ. At his recommendation we began our tour early Saturday morning, just west of his hometown. For miles, the border is wide open with only a little barbed wire fence separating the two countries. It has been cut in so many places that cattle often cross. At one point, while trying to get a picture, we bumped the fence and it fell over, leaving an opening a humvee could drive through.
As we approached the border town of Douglas, AZ a more substantial structure could be seen?one made of corrugated steel. But if the illegals don?t have the tools to cut an opening at the bottom, and apparently many do, they only need to travel a few miles east. There, some of the drug runners and coyotes have run the fence down completely with stolen SUVs. But, if the travelers arrive at the border on a day when these openings have been repaired, there is nothing to worry about.
Another half mile east the only thing in your way is a few strands of barbed wire.
Saturday afternoon we spent at the home of Roger and Barbara Barnett.
They own a spectacular ranch right on the border. During the last eight years the Barnetts have turned over to the Border Patrol more than 14,000 illegal immigrants and bundles of marijuana valued in the millions of dollars. For four hours they related their experience on the front lines of the invasion.
The illegal aliens have polluted streams with human waste, and have destroyed pristine locations on the ranch that were once favorite spots for the family. They leave trash everywhere, including plastic bags and bottles, to which the cattle are attracted, and which, when the animals consume it, kills them.
One spring, the Barnetts left a new-born calf and its mother out on the ranch. I was told it is best to give a newborn a day or so before moving it. In the morning when Roger went to check on the calf, he found it dead?with its leg missing. Nearby he found an illegal alien hunched over a fire with the calf?s leg in hand.
On another occasion, Roger, Barbara, and Roger?s brother, Don, were some distance from the house when they came across an illegal alien. They were without a cell phone, so Don went to the house to call the Border Patrol, while Roger and Barbara watched guard over the intruder. The wait was lengthy and Barbara was nervous. This particular character could present a problem. So Roger rolled the man up in a tarp? head out, of course?to eliminate any possibility that the man might try something.
After a while, the man in the tarp became angry and started to squirm and scream. That?s when Roger?s dog, an Australian shepherd, took note.
Finding the noise and activity coming from the tarp fascinating, the dog attempted to mate with the man?s head. A bit later the illegal immigrant tried freeing himself again?only to have his head mated a second time.
There were no more problems after that.
Recently, on a drive around the property, the Barnetts came across the dead body of a woman. She had been a part of a group, but did not survive the bruising trip across the desert. The others, including her husband, left her body on the side of the road and moved on. The husband later called to identify her by phone and asked that her body be sent back to her family in Mexico. He was told: ?No.? He would have to come in person to identify the body. The husband tried to explain that he had already settled in one of America?s fine cities and having to return to Mexico with his dead wife was a real inconvenience.
Larry, our guide through this amazing adventure, has a home in Douglas. He has had his dog killed, his property trampled, and his income severely restricted. When the illegals moved their primary crossing point from California to Arizona, Larry?s home was virtually under siege at night. He didn?t feel comfortable working long hours and leaving his wife home alone in the evening. He quit a great position and took a substantial pay cut to be home before the nightly invasion began. Since sleep was so difficult under these circumstances, he began filming the hordes of illegal aliens that crossed his property every night. Today he has an infra-red camera installed on a pole high above his deck. He adjusts it from inside his home where he can watch the illegals on his television set.
Roger Barnett, as well as other ranchers in the area, has sensors placed at key locations on his property. Information, which clearly distinguishes between animal or human traffic near these sites, is relayed right into his home. Roger?s brother, Don, has an infra-red camera attached to the top of his SUV, which sends images to the TV monitor inside his car. Stopping illegals is now an integral part of their daily routine.
On Saturday evening we all joined another rancher on top of a hill. We could see six to seven miles in all directions. This is beautiful country?and it all belongs to these ranchers.
It seemed such a shame. The sunset is as spectacular as any you will see. But we were not looking at that. We all had binoculars and were looking for illegal aliens who might be trying to cross the valleys in front of us or the mountains in the distance.
Why not enjoy the evening, and give the illegals a break, you might ask. But looking out on this great land I understand why these men are fighting for it. Illegal immigration has cost them millions of dollars.
It has cost some of their neighbors their livelihood. Today Roger is the target of a multi-million dollar law suit, filed by MALDEF, the Mexican-American Legal Defense Fund. His crime: he nudged a couple illegal aliens who, with a dozen or so others, were trespassing on his property, while illegally entering the country. The two would not do as he asked?stay in the group until the Border Patrol arrived.
As we drove down the hill after detecting no illegal entries, you?ll be pleased to know that we stopped five young Mexican men walking along the road. Thanks to us, they were sent back across the border that evening ?delaying their plans by a day or so.
I kept asking the ranchers, Larry, and the others with whom we spoke, ?Why??
Finally Roger said, ?Bay, when you get the answer to that, give us a call.?
But the answer is obvious. President George W. Bush is not defending America?s borders?and our Congress is doing nothing to make him!
The revolution is long overdue.
Bay Buchanan
