Texas ranchers on border crisis: ‘The government doesn’t care’
Texas ranchers Marcus and Stephanie Canales share how the border crisis is affecting them after migrants passed through and destroyed their property on 'Fox News Tonight.'
Two Texas ranchers are sounding the alarm about the impact the border crisis has had on them after groups of migrants allegedly walked through and destroyed their property.
Marcus and Stephanie Canales, who live 56 miles from the Laredo border, said they have seen the impact of President Biden’s border policies firsthand.
"What we’re seeing on our property, we're getting the bailouts, we're getting the getaways, the unknowns. We're also getting all of the foot traffic," Marcus explained on "Fox News Tonight." "I mean, just last night we had about three groups of ten plus that moved through anywhere from one in the morning to four. We had some during the day. It's just non-stop traffic around here."
Stephanie Canales added that they’ve had groups as large as 30 migrants come through their property. "You know, when you're out in a pasture by yourself, you may have a gun on you, which we do. But, you know, if 30 people approach you, you're in trouble. And that's what's scary," she said.
Migrants cross the Canales' property in the early morning. (Screengrab/ Fox News Tonight)
Border crossings have escalated in recent weeks and migrants have been gathering by the thousands near different sections of the border wall, including in El Paso, as they wait for Title 42 to expire on Thursday.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas pleaded with migrants not to illegally enter the U.S., saying the border "is not open."
"It has not been open, and it will not be open subsequent to May 11. And the smugglers who exploit vulnerable migrants are spreading misinformation. They are spreading false information, lies in a way to lure vulnerable people to the southern border and those individuals will only be returned," he said at a press conference in Brownsville, Texas, last week.
Marcus Canales told guest host Kayleigh McEnany they have faced a "constant battle" to repair and mend the fences destroyed by migrants in order to keep their cattle in.
"You know, one of our parcels here or pieces of property, you know, it's on one of the major highways for all field traffic. So a lot of 18-wheelers, you know. We have to keep our cattle safe and off the highway. And so when we do get a bailout and we're called, you know by Border Patrol or DPS. We… you know, it's 1:00 in the morning and it's during the day, whatever you're doing, you pretty much stop what you're doing to, you know, make sure the fence is mended to where it'll keep our cattle in," he explained.
"The other piece of property that we have is across one of the major highways, which is IH-35. And just recently there was a calf out that almost got onto the highway. And you can only guess where it comes from. And it's usually a hole in the fence that apparently, what I found out there was a bailout the night before. It was on a neighbor not too far from us and that calf had wandered out. But again, you know, it's livestock and it's right there in the middle of people doing 75, 80 miles an hour, down 35."
A destroyed fence on the Canales property. (Screengrab/ Fox News Tonight)
Marcus Canales says they have faced a "constant battle" to repair and mend the fences destroyed by migrants. (Screengrab/ Fox News Tonight)
McEnany asked Stephanie how it feels when she hears White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre say the White House’s border security policies have caused illegal immigration to decrease by 90%.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
"It's a slap in the face to those of us that live down here because we know that's not true because we live it every single day," she responded. "You know, this has taken a huge financial toll on not just us, but all of our neighbors, all of us along the border. And I think a lot of people don't realize that. And, you know, we are sympathetic to some of those that are coming over here because they say they're being oppressed or they can't feed their families in whatever country they're from. But, you know, there's a lot of American citizens that also can't feed their families right now. And I feel like the federal government doesn't care and they're not doing anything to help us."
Fox News' Lawrence Richard contributed to this report.
Fox News First
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.