Arizona Ranchers weigh in on impact of illegals and border security

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Much of the traffic across the Tucson Corridor of the border is controlled by the Sinaloa Cartel. Jim and Sue estimate more than 200 trails go through their ranch and all are under the rule of the Sinaloa Cartel.
“About 20 miles into the U.S. is controlled by the Sinaloa Cartel. That’s where our ranch is, it’s in no man’s land,” Jim says
Trail cameras are set up along three paths to help the Chiltons monitor activity on their ranch. They aren’t catching pictures of wildlife—mostly smugglers carrying large bundles of drugs. Last year 360 images of drug packers were captured.

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Jim and Sue want more officers at the border. They have proposed leasing 10 acres of their property in the Forest Service allotments to the Border Patrol to set up forward operating bases. Their rental fee: $1 per year.
“The offer was made five years ago, and they are still studying it. If you can’t find the dollar, I’ll lend it to you,” Jim adds.

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The Bells and Chiltons have installed drinking fountains at their water sites for migrants. Prior to this, cattle waterers would be broken routinely, draining stock tanks, as migrants searched for water. Even now, plastic piping is cut open when groups can’t quickly locate a tank

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Wildfires started by those crossing illegally are also a problem. In 2011, three-quarters of Bell’s grazing allotments burned from 13 separate fires and only one wasn’t man-made.
Then, the cost of putting out fires is often passed to tax payers. Jim estimates at least $2 million was spent on firefighting on his ranch in 2017 because of fires started by smugglers and migrants.

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The bollard fence has made a big impact on Bell’s ranch management
“Before, we had a lot of problems with the fence being let down, almost on a nightly basis,” he says.The neighbor’s cattle would cross from Mexico and graze his Forest Service allotments. “It really made an improvement when the bollard fence went in, and we could see the change from one growing season to the next.”

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