Residents of Small US Town Send Grave Warning After Governor Claims Border Crisis Doesn't Exist
When New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham visited the United States’ southern border, she couldn’t be happier.
During a trip to southern New Mexico earlier this year, the Democratic leader proudly proclaimed, “I haven’t seen anything to indicate that we have an emerging crisis here at the border,” according to the Great Falls Tribune.
She might have had a different perspective had she gone farther west in the state.
Residents of the unincorporated community of Hachita, in the southwest corner of New Mexico, live with the realities of the border crisis every day. As the last vestige of civilization before Highway 81 ends at a border entry point, the town has become a hub for illegal immigration.
Every noise now has the potential to leave residents on edge. Some even hear people talking outside of their houses, a terrifying prospect in such a remote area.
“I’ve heard stuff and it makes me wonder. I don’t want to look outside, because you never what’s outside your window,” retiree Bonnie Denzler told the Tribune. “It’s really disconcerting because you don’t know what’s going on.”
She also has a pointed message for the governor.
“She needs to come down here to this area — to see how wide open it is and how easy it is for people to jump the fence. People need to see what’s down here and that it’s not as safe as they’re spouting it is,” Denzler said.
The border crossing in New Mexico appears to be relatively easy, prompting groups of over 100 to make the trek. More than 26 of these groups have been apprehended since last October.
Border Patrol officials say many of the illegals coming over in mass numbers are trying to get caught.
Once arrested, groups are taken to a Border Patrol station. There, they are likely to receive unfettered access to water, food and health care. Safely away from the harsh terrain and desert climate, they then begin the process of applying for asylum.
Amanda Adame, the owner of a 24,000-acre ranch, said not all of those passing through the area are harmless asylum seekers. After spotting armed men dressed entirely in camouflage milling around one of her water tanks, she said she became worried the gunmen would follow her home.
“By the time they get to my house,” Adame told the Tribune, “the Border Patrol is not going to catch them. There’s too much space.”
The sparse population and wide open spaces of southern New Mexico lend the illegals a natural advantage, leaving Border Patrol officers scrambling to cover a vast area with limited staff and funding.
Abandoned buildings, which the town has plenty of, act as rest areas for those illegally crossing the southern border. This has prompted many in Hachita to get dogs. This only goes so far, however.
With groups numbering over 100 illegals common, even the most routine of smuggling operations outnumbers the town’s double-digit population.
A tall and strong border wall wouldn’t only help the citizens of Hachita — it could mean the difference between life and death.
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