DEL RIO, Texas — Texas ranchers are rejecting an offer from the federal government to cover property damages resulting from illegal immigration and drug smuggling, fearing the aid will come with strings attached and won't help with the underlying problems at the border.
A Department of Agriculture initiative to pay landowners across the state for a wide array of losses they sustained due to a surge in trespassers traveling from the border north into Texas is being met with skepticism and calls for President Joe Biden to secure the border.
Most importantly, Donna Schuster said, they have lost their peace of mind over the past 14 months that they said the border fell out of control. The Del Rio area in January saw more illegal immigrants stopped by law enforcement than any other section of the border, a first in the Border Patrol's 98 years. While families often surrender to Border Patrol, many adults try to avoid getting caught by escaping across private property.
Page Day is a professional outfitter who makes a living hosting hunters on guided expeditions on his 20,000 acres outside Del Rio. He said he has spent up to $60,000 on repairs over the past year. Since Sunday, he has found five holes cut in fences on his property, meaning new repairs are necessary. Day plans to apply for reimbursement but is concerned that the money will be taxed or that it is a loan, not free money, though the USDA has indicated it is not a loan.
“It’s probably going to be more trouble than it's worth [to apply] because nothing is simple with the government. If I have to spend four or five hours filling out stuff and sending it in then have somebody come look at it, by the time they do that, we've already fixed another fence,” said Whaley. In December 2020, the Schusters installed a new net wire fence that was supposed to last 30 to 40 years but instead is constantly being repaired due to climbing and cutting from trespassers. Recently, a smuggler drove a truck off the highway and through their fence, continuing past it and into the next pasture.
“Those cattle eat it, and because of their digestive system and the way it's set up, they end up getting what we call hardware disease. They can't process their diet anymore, so they get skinny and eventually die,” John Paul Schuster said. “We found a dead cow the other day that I haven't calved.”
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