Putting A Face On The Issue

I've certainly seen my share of illegal immigrant stories in the news lately. The idea seems to be, put a face to the problem, and those who oppose giving illegals full citizenship in front of immigrants trying to get in legally will melt. Well, let's see if those same people have a heart where actual Americans are concerned. Take the example of rancher Ron White.

Ron White sees two kinds of illegal immigrants on his ranch south of town.

There are the dozens each day who simply pass through. They are a nuisance.

But others, White says, are a threat - like the group that tried to order him off his horse, or the smugglers who cut his fences every full moon.

White, 60, who has been confronted by large groups of immigrants, is convinced people are smuggling drugs across his land and has started wearing a pistol on his hip and carrying a rifle in a saddle scabbard when he rides his ranch, repairing the eight miles of fence cut at least monthly by someone he suspects is a drug smuggler.

White feels no animosity for most of those who enter the United States looking for work, though they litter his ranch with discarded clothing, backpacks and empty water jugs.
White moved to the ranch about 10 years ago.

"When I moved out here we'd get five to 10 (immigrants) a month," White said. "When they started talking about amnesty prior to the 2004 election it jumped to 50 to 100 a day."

Now, White said, "My wife and my grandchildren can't even leave the house and go out for a walk in the country and I can't even ride the fence line on my ranch without an arsenal."

White said he started packing weapons after being confronted several times by large groups over the past two years, and that some of them tried to order him off his horse. He refused, and rode away.
Before that, "I never carried a gun in my life," he said.

"I've never hurt anybody in my life, but, my God, we're scared to death."

White said every month, about the time of a full moon, someone leads a string of pack horses across his land, cutting fences on the north and south sides of the ranch.

White said he suspects the trespasser is a drug smuggler and that the cut fences cost him $15,000 to $20,000 a year in lost cattle.

White said he feels badly for the struggling migrants, some of whom have been victimized by border criminals.

"I've talked to some of them. They say they've been robbed by other illegals," White said.

Here's a man living on the border and living with the real effects of illegal immigration. Because someone wants illegals for "jobs Americans won't do" allegedly, White and others like him have to personally deal with this problem alone without much help from the government. Normally, I'm all for the government letting people solve their own problems, but border security is sort of a basic issue of sovereignty, and if you can't control your borders...well, we've discussed that before.

Here's a man who has sympathy for those coming across to work. He personally seems to be on the side of the "illegal immigrants rights" crowd that say "times are tough, ok, let 'em work". Which is fine. I used to be firmly in that camp, so I understand his feeling. But his life and livelihood are threatened by the criminal element also crossing the border. The only jobs they're here to do are supplying the drug trade and killing anyone who gets in their way. They've also been known to help smuggle other criminals back into the country and apparently even have help from the Mexican Army at times.

So, he packs a gun, something he likely never thought he'd have to do, just to protect his wife and grandchildren. And when he or they end up hurt or dead, who does he blame? Does he blame the criminal that crossed the border wantonly and hurt them? Or does he blame the government for so carelessly allowing the situation to get this bad?

Another thing I usually despise is moral relevancy. But in this case, I'd hold them both to be as guilty as the other and when such events occur, as they have been occurring already, their blood will be on the government's hands. I wish White lots of luck. He's going to need it and he has a better chance at this point of finding a four leaf clover on his ranch than of finding help from the Feds (and that includes the empty platitudes in the President's speech last night).

Hat tip to RightWingNews for the lead on the story.