Notes taken and compiled by C.J. Luhrsen
The meeting was sponsored by the NM Cattlegrowers Assoc. and facilitated by Republican Party of Luna County Chair Russ Howell. Around 500 people from at least five counties attended. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Tom Udall, Martin Heinrich, and Xochitl Torres-Small were all invited, but none attended. Yvette Herrell, Mick Rich, and Dr. Gavin Clarkson did attend.
Speakers:
Dick Wooten, Respiratory Therapist – diseases are coming across the border and some are epidemic. There are 5,000 unvaccinated children in NM. U.S. adult citizens, who were vaccinated as children, may not have any remaining immunity to measles, mumps or rubella; because the country ahs not been living with those diseases. These diseases can affect adults worse than children.
• Measles are infectious 2 hrs. after exposure. Currently epidemic in Clark County, WA.
• TB is among the top 10 killers in the World.
• Typhoid is epidemic in LA, carried by the fleas on rats.
• Mumps is epidemic in Houston.
• Border Patrol employees often encounter/contract scabies and lice.
• Foot and mouth disease is common in Mexico.
Veterinarian Dr. Gary Thrasher of Hereford, AZ, spoke on transboundary diseases that affect livestock and people.
• Vectors (carriers) are ticks, fleas, and people.
• Brucellosis and Tuberculosis are big worries.
• Arizona spent multi-millions of dollars to eradicate TB & succeeded in 1986.
• Liberals will not allow testing of dairy and livestock workers; yet 1.25 million head of livestock coming from Mexico are tested and kept in quarantine until proven disease free. No illegals are tested. This author's grandparents came through Ellis Island and had to be disease-free in the early 1900s.
• Texas cattle fever tick’s enemy is fire ants. Their habitat is eliminated by an invasive weed introduced from illegal traffic from Mexico, so the ticks carrying Texas fever no longer have their natural enemy.
NM Rancher Theresa Thompson lives on a ranch that has been in the family since 1918. The ranch has eight miles of border fence with Mexico. In 1990 while driving in their pickup and checking a pasture fence, her husband and brother-in-law encountered a number of teenagers with Uzis. They were threatened and made to stand in a ditch with their backs to those holding guns on them. Thankfully, the Uzi wielding youths drove off in the pickup, got stuck in a ditch and ran back into Mexico. In 2005 they had 500 illegals crossing their ranch daily on 54 trails, in 2006 that number had increased to 1,000+ daily and 256 trails. Illegals set two fires to signal help that burned up 400 acres of range.
AZ Rancher Ed Ashurst ranches in SE AZ and has authored 8 books including “Alligators and Moats.” He stated, “You are entitled to your own opinion, but not to your own facts.” Ashurst made the following points:
1. Border is not secure
2. Border Patrol agents are not on the Border, they are using what they call ‘in-depth’ strategy. They have retreated inland to Highways 9 and 10. One of their managers stated, “The first 100 miles in is a third country.”
3. The ranchers are facing Mexican and Narco combatants.
4. The Border Patrol has technology that does not work, i.e., drones and dirigibles cannot fly in bad weather or wind. Most of them have been and still are sitting idle in AZ.
5. Illegals/narcos have 50 cal. machine guns – yet Mexico has the strictest gun laws in the world.
6. Ninety percent of illegal traffic are 20-something males.
7. Narcos charge up to $7,000 per head to get illegals here.
8. Traffic is up 500 percent this year.
Jim White ranched near Presidio, TX, on Bright Ranch. A private firm set up their system on his ranch and it was nearly 100 percent successful.
The Border Patrol spent $54 million of taxes on the Ladd Ranch (a combination of technology and boots on the ground), which did almost nothing to stop the illegal traffic. Ashurst insisted that, “The difference is motivation!”
A border patrol friend of the author told her that 265 illegals were apprehended at Antelope Wells on Friday, March 15. They were already overwhelmed with over 100 that week, plus El Paso sends them their excess.
Dr. Gavin Clarkson spoke and showed an aerial film of the Mexico U.S. Border. He made the following points.
• NM has 179 miles of border with Mexico.
• Of that less than 19 percent or 34 miles (up from 17 miles last year) has ‘Primary Barrier’ which is an 18’ high pedestrian-proof barrier.
• Much of the international border is just barbed wire.
• Some ranchers have put in metal fences and/or Normandy barriers (like on the beach) amounting to 81 miles of vehicle barrier.
• All of the California boundary with Mexico has some type of wall.
• Antelope Wells is part of the El Paso Sector.
• 95.7% of illegals crossing the boarder in the El Paso Sector cannot pass the ‘credible fear test’ to qualify them for asylum. They are all released into the U.S. and asked to return for their hearings in 2.5 years. Less than 3 percent ever return for their hearings.
The NM 18-foot high ‘primary’ barrier walls cost $2 million per mile, are constructed and cost similar to Israel’s wall, which is 99.7% effective. It would cost only $290 million to finish the final 145 miles of NM wall.