Arizona Ranchers Tell Their Stories of Border Danger
04/04/2010
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Rancher Robert Krentz was murdered by an illegal alien on Saturday, March 27. On Wednesday, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords heard from her constituents how life on the ranches near the border is becoming increasingly unsafe.

The stories are chilling: no Americans should be forced to live with such threatening violence because of Washington's shirking of its Constitutional responsibility to protect the nation's perimeter from invasion.

Giffords hears out ranchers after death, Sierra Vista Herald, April 1, 2010

Former rancher Pam DiPeso of Pearce told Rep. Gabrielle Giffords on Wednesday that residents in the San Bernardino Valley and along the eastern edge of Cochise County are haunted by the weekend murder of rancher Robert Krentz. [...]

Stella Brown of Elfrida came with a sign that read: ”Foreign Invasion.” She has dealt firsthand with illegal border crossers at her home. She came home to find two people on her porch, which she called ”frightening.” Though the men were not aggressive, she now fears for her safety and packs a firearm.

One family was afraid to give their names, saying the fear of drug cartel retribution is paramount in their minds. One young woman holding her 4-month-old girl told of just such a circumstance. Her neighbor called the Border Patrol on drug runners and his horses were stolen. A local veterinarian who offers services in Mexico said he had found the stud horse that he had tended to over the years in a Sonoran pasture. [...]

Rancher Kelly Glenn, a Krentz family friend, told Giffords and Border Patrol representatives: ”We have begged for your support. Our home lies the closest to the border. The Border Patrol needs help. They need maps of the terrain, the paths, the roads. They need the power to defend themselves and the support of our legal system. They need to be on the border with the technology to back them up. There needs to be some focus on what’s happening here.”

Third-generation rancher Bill McDonald, another lifelong friend of Krentz, said ”I have heard about the war on drugs and sealing the border for as long as I can remember. I’ve never felt more at risk in my life. This is a bad situation.”

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