CALF_News_December_2021_January_2022

20 CALF News • December 2021 | January 2022 • www.calfnews.net BORDER CRISIS Continued from page 18 Vehicles overcrowded with people often ram fences or gates. Coe said a Syrian carrying a gun and driving a van was stopped by the sheriff ’s department. “He has not spoken since being arrested,” Coe said, pointing out there is no way of knowing the intentions of the trespasser. Ranchers know fence repairs can run $1,200 to $1,800 or more for 100 lineal feet, depending on materials. Damage from cutting or ramming through fences is not in a producer’s budget. Neither is labor for repairing or replacing other ranch property. Coe noted he received a call from an angry rancher just before taking the stage to speak at the Lubbock forum. “He said a group came through his prop- erty during the night, pried open a solar panel box and burned it up trying to recharge a cell phone. Ranchers cannot afford such losses.” To Tell the Truth Before obtaining his Border Prosecu- tion Unit inspector position, Skero retired in July as chief of the Border Patrol (BP) Del Rio sector. Pressure from federal offi- cials to hold his tongue eventually forced him to end his 30-plus-year BP career. “I retired because I was ready to move into a position where I could speak the truth,” he said, describing how BP agents are forbidden from speaking publicly on actual border conditions. In September, the pressure cooker fur- ther exploded after some 17,000 Haitian refugees were brought to Mexico and points south following one humanitar- ian crisis after another. Coe and Skero emphasized that the Biden administra- tion was drastically “unprepared” for the onslaught of refugees who camped beneath the Del Rio, Texas, bridges. The unfortunate photo of a running refuge beside a BP agent on horseback with reins in his hand had some national media claiming the person was being whipped. Some Democrats in Congress and state offices raised hell. “Agents were not whipping anyone,” Coe said. “[The Haitians] came across the river and surrendered to BP agents,” Skero said. “Up to 95 percent of them were processed.” Many refugees were flown back home. Others, along with other illegals, chanced entering the United States. “Cartels are smart. They have a fan- tastic business model,” Skero said. “They take in about $25 million per week in the Del Rio area just moving people. That doesn’t count dope, any kind of guns or anything. Rio. Their cars block main entry areas used by illegals. “They tried their best to get a handle on this,” Skero said, but illegals, includ- ing the Haitian refugees “kept coming and coming and coming.” Vehicles that got through the border brigade often resulted in high-speed chases with limited highway patrol resources to corral them. Coe said he has asked Abbott for assistance from the Texas National Guard to bolster border security. But this has been slow to come, even though there were reports in early October of National Guard forces pre- paring for more migrant caravans headed to Texas. Coe admitted he was getting antsy about measurable help from the National Guard. Skero noted that if the National Guard gets into place, the Biden administration could give his own orders as Commander and Chief and have them stand down. “Sen. Ted Cruz recently visited the Del Rio area,” Skero added. “He told us the truth. He said, ‘You’re on your own. We’ve asked for help, but we’re being stonewalled by the Democrats in Congress.’” Coe went so far as to say he believed billionaire leftist George Soros might be funding the refuges and other illegals  The Border Prosecution Unit has the task of prosecuting illegals. The unit must cover a border more than 1,200 miles long. Along with the humanitarian catastrophe, local Texas ranchers are seeing their properties damaged and their livelihoods threatened. “They push folks through in small areas, which occupies all of the BP resources. On the outer flanks, they’re pushing criminal aliens, narcotics, all of those things across the border where we’re not located. “This is a huge problem. We begged the federal government for assistance. We told DHS [Department of Home- land Security] the resources that we needed – and it was not delivered. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott stepped up. He sent 600 Department of Public Safety highway patrol troopers to Del