Texas ranchers 'constantly' armed after third attempted break-in amid migrant crisis: 'No feeling of safety'
Texas ranch owners Scott and Debbie Douglas discuss suspected illegal immigrants attempting to break into their property three times and plea for help from Gov. Abbott.
Texas ranch owners living near the southern border say they have been forced to "constantly" arm themselves as they no longer feel safe on their property following several attempted break-ins from suspected illegal immigrants.
Debbie Douglas, her son Scott Douglas and her young granddaughter joined "Tucker Carlson Tonight" to discuss the impact of the ongoing border crisis on their livelihoods and called for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to "step in" to help.
"It is very sad that we cannot come up here and enjoy the life that we did several years ago without fearing for our lives," Debbie said. "We have constantly got to be armed. We've constantly got to be watching the little one so that she doesn't get out of our sight… the solution is to close the borders. Our governor has got to do something."
Scott said he feels that "nothing is being done" by the federal government at the U.S.-Mexico border to the point that police from all over the state have come in to assist Border Patrol.
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"We've got to close down the border. You know, this administration is not doing anything about it. So we've got to rely on our governor to step in and take up the slack," he said.
Debbie said there is now "no feeling of safety" at their ranch because of the crisis.
"It is always fearful. You're always looking over your shoulder. You're always listening for sounds that are not familiar to you. You do not feel safe. You can't even go out on the porch in the mornings to drink your coffee without a gun on you," she said.
"This is the third time within 18 months that we've had illegals here at our property," Scott added.
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Video shows an attempted break-in at a Texas ranch house near the border. (Debbie Douglas)
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Debbie captured on video a group of men, who she believes to be illegal immigrants, attempting to break into her house, but Border Patrol officers were unable to apprehend the men.
The video, obtained by Fox News, shows a group of men trying to break into the house in Edwards County, about 50 miles inland from the border.
While the men's immigration status is not known, ranchers and communities along and near the border have been dealing with a surge in illegal immigration, including enormous numbers of "gotaways."
There were more than 73,000 gotaways — illegal immigrants who slipped past Border Patrol agents — in November, after fiscal year 2022 saw nearly 600,000 gotaways.
Fox News' Adam Shaw and Bill Melugin contributed to this report.