Kamala Harris ‘needs to do her job’: Border rancher struggles to secure his ranch from migrants
Illegal immigrants regularly damage property such as game fences when crossing into Texas from Mexico, Starr County rancher Richard Guerra told Fox News.
ROMA, Texas – A rancher at the southern border, struggling to secure his property against migrants using it to sneak into the U.S., criticized President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for failing to curb the ongoing crisis.
Migrants cutting through Richard Guerra's game fences have also led to costly repairs. But the rancher said the damages have recently decreased since migrants view the border as open, encouraging them to cross more openly at Eagle Pass.
"I'm one of several ranchers here, the property owners, that have been affected by the migration," Guerra told Fox News. "Basically, the first thing that's damaged is your fences because they're trying to access your property."
Migrants illegally crossing into Texas from Mexico often bend, cut, or rip away portions of the metal game fences lining Guerra's 8,000-acre ranch, which lies roughly one mile north of the border, according to the Texan. He said that mending a mile-long section could cost him upwards of $10,000, depending on the severity of the damage.
BORDER CRISIS: LEGISLATION AIMS TO HELP RANCHERS REELING FROM ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT PROPERTY DAMAGE
Damage to a section of rancher Richard Guerra's metal fence is visible in this Oct. 1, 2022, photo. (Gabrielle Reyes/Fox News)
Customs and Border Protection officials made more than two million arrests from October 2021 through September 2022 — over 340,000 more than the year previous. Guerra lamented that he and other South Texas ranchers are forced to bear extra financial burdens due to Biden's failure to stop the migrant surge.
"He doesn't seem to accept the fact that we've got a problem," Guerra said, adding that he's "hoping for a change in administration."
"It’s a big problem, and it's not just for us ranchers here along the river," he told Fox News. "It's a problem for the whole country."
Guerra questioned why taxpayers should have to shoulder expenses related to assisting migrants. He also criticized Harris, who Biden tasked with curbing the migrant surge, for visiting the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea last month instead of the southern border.
"Instead of coming here, she goes to South Korea to watch that border," Guerra said. "What's that got to do with us?"
NUMBER OF ILLEGAL MIGRANTS WHO ENTERED US SINCE BIDEN TOOK OFFICE APPROACHING TWO MILLION
Vice President Kamala Harris examines the DMZ separating South Korea from North Korea on Sept. 29, 2022. She's visited the U.S.-Mexico border only once during her time in office. (Leah Millis/Reuters Photo)
TEXAS MAYOR CALLS OUT KAMALA HARRIS FOR NOT VISITING BORDER DURING WEEKEND TRIP
Since Biden tapped her, Harris' only southern border visit was to El Paso in June 2021. The vice president was just a short flight away when she traveled to Austin on Saturday for a Texas Democratic Party fundraiser, but she didn't make the trip.
Many migrants cross from Mexico to Texas illegally via the Rio Grande. (Gabrielle Reyes/Fox News)
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"Austin is not the border," Guerra said. He invited Harris to "come down" to the Rio Grande region and "spend some time with us ranchers, farmers or local people that are suffering the consequences" of the border crisis.
"Wake up. Do your job," the rancher told Fox News. "Get down here and be the person that you're supposed to be as a [border] czar."
"Either come down or get out of Dodge," Guerra said.
