A Texas rancher witnessing the border crisis firsthand slammed the Biden administration’s handling of a “bad situation” that “has not improved at all” as the end of Title 42 looms.
“We have people coming through our property 24 hours a day, seven days a week now,” Stephanie Canales said on “Mornings with Maria” Wednesday.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s claim that illegal migration was “down by more than 90%” made Canales “want to laugh,” she added.
“And [for] those of us that live down here every day that are dealing with this, it has not improved at all,” she argued.
“It just continues to get worse. And I don’t care what lies they spew to the American people. They are lies because it’s only gotten worse every day.”
On Monday, Jean-Pierre came under fire for implying President Biden’s parolee program — which allows residents of Venezuela and three other countries to follow the asylum seeker application process, or risk being turned away at the border — had contributed to a staggering drop in illegal border crossings.
According to US Customs and Border Protection, enforcement encounters involving citizens from the four countries included in the program dropped from 91,346 to 14,509 in March — a decline of 84%.
Meanwhile, Canales alleges she and fellow ranchers are in a “constant battle” with migrants crossing their property on foot and by vehicle at all hours of the day.
“When they drive through our property, that’s fence damage. So we’re constantly repairing fences, we’re constantly replacing gates that they will blow through on their vehicles when they’re being chased by law enforcement,” she said.
“We’ve also had to install cameras throughout our property … the cameras allow us to see who’s on our property at any given time, so then we can alert the patrol. But it’s come at a huge cost to us and it’s very, very frustrating. And no, we don’t feel safe at all.”
On Tuesday, Biden pushed through a request to send 1,500 US troops to the Mexican border in anticipation of the May 11 end of the pandemic-era Title 42 that deterred illegal crossings.
The active-duty units will focus on logistical tasks, not enforcement, a Pentagon spokesperson said.
“God bless our troops, I’m sure they will be a big help to the Border Patrol and to our state troopers that are down here. But, where were they a long time ago?” Canales said of the effort.
“They need to shut the border because people are just coming over here. It’s nonstop.
“The more people they allow to cross the borders, the bigger these groups are going to be coming through our property. And when you’re one rancher out in the middle of a field and 40 people approach you, that’s putting us in a bad situation.”
