KRGV 5FALFURRIAS – Brooks County remains a busy human-smuggling corridor despite the reported drop in illegal crossings, area ranchers said.
The ranchers feel different groups along the border are sending mixed messages about the reality of the border crisis.
Recent remarks by McAllen Chamber of Commerce officials forced a group in Brooks County to draft a letter asking for the truth to be told about illegal immigration.
El Tule Ranch sits 9 miles West of Falfurrias. It covers 13,000 acres of Texas landscape.
“This is not too much land, comparatively speaking with other ranches. King Ranch, Armstrong Ranch, Cage Rranch, Jones Ranch. A lot of those ranches are a heck of a lot bigger,” ranch manager Lavoyger Durham said.
Durham has spent the past 24 years patrolling the ranch. He says he’s found half a dozen bodies. He said buzzards often let ranchers know that a body is nearby.
Fifty two illegal immigrants were found dead in Brooks County this year.
“That in itself shows how many people have been coming through,” said Susan Kibbe, executive director for the South Texas Property Rights Association.
Kibbe said landowners are dealing with constant property damage.
“Whether it’s gates, fences, watering places, break ins into hunting camps, property stolen, vehicles stolen,” she said.
A few weeks ago, the mayor of Laredo told the Texas political website Quorum Report that his city’s crime rate was down. McAllen’s Chamber of Commerce told the website that sending the National Guard to the Valley sends the wrong message to businesses looking to move to the region.
Kibbe disagrees.
“We respect their input and opinion, but we have a different reality,” Kibbe said.
Kibbe said the reality is much different in Brooks County.
“We wanted to make sure they understood where we were coming from as well,” she said.
Kibbe says she wants lawmakers to hear a united voice that help is needed to fight illegal immigration throughout South Texas.
CHANNEL 5 NEWS reached out to the mayor of Laredo and the McAllen Chamber of Commerce to get a response, but they didn’t respond.
http://www.krgv.com/news/brooks-county-landowners-want-unified-front-against-illegal-immigration/