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Del Rio, Texas — Page Day makes a living with hunters on a guided expedition of deer and exotic animals on 20,000 acres of family land just miles from the US-Mexico border in south-central Texas. Professional clothing.
But lately, Day has begun to lose some of his business, fearing hunters coming to the border.
“They didn’t want to come because I canceled some groups. They didn’t want to deal with it,” Day told the Washington Examiner during a tour of his property. “It’s like going to New Orleans’ 9th district and saying,’OK, it’s safe now, but when will something happen?'” Day said. “That’s what I was trying to explain.”
Hunters travel across states and countries to visit acorn outfitters and pay up to $ 3,500 to hunt one of two family-owned properties. Page places a rancher in a guesthouse on the premises.
While animals such as the white-tailed deer roam freely in the area, he also breeds exotic animals in a fenced field eight feet high until they are ready to be released for hunting. I am breeding.
Texas soldiers trusted to regain control of the Del Rio border
“The main problem we have now is [illegal immigrants] Cut the fence, [and] They kicked out those animals. We’re talking about high-end animals worth up to $ 8,000 or $ 10,000, starting at $ 2,500 to shoot one, “Day said during a tour of about 10,000 acres of private land. “They cut high fences, kept the gates open, and kept the fallow deer I was preparing to breed. So one night I lost just five grounds there.”
He pointed to the black tarpaulin and Superman’s blanket behind the pickup truck he found on the ranch while he was out with the hunter and said he was left behind by an intruder.
“This started last January,” Day said. “We are hunting here all day long in these canyons and streams, literally straddling groups while hunting.”
Customs and Border Protection may have entered his property once every few weeks to arrest illegal immigrants. Since the beginning of this summer, he has known 1,500 to 2,000 people who have invaded his land from the border.
(Page Thomas Day / Acorn Outfitters, LLC)
Professional jewelery is not worried about the influx of Haitian immigrants surrendering to border guards at the International Bridge, but he mainly crosses his property with a group of men and how it manages the business and life of his family. I’m worried if I’m hurt.
Day lived in this land for the rest of his life and found it difficult to raise cattle, so he started the outfit business in 2001. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, a similar proportion of illegal immigrants were arrested at the border, but most came to work and they did not cut fences or bother residents, he said. rice field.
He pointed out the property of his neighbors scattered across the rolling hills on the horizon and listed recent invasions on all property. No one was exempt except him.
“My neighbor, this house on the hill behind us, broke earlier this year. They literally plundered the entire house, ran around the floor, urinate, and s ***.” Day said. “The rancher they stole the Polaris Ranger-they were playing with guns, and it disappeared, bounced off the pool table, and hit the hungry man.”
I am always armed on the day, just as my wife goes out to check the fences on the premises twice a day. Many ranchers come twice a day and start hiring people to check fences for cuts by smugglers because of their recent frequency and the financial losses that occur when animals flee. For other ranchers, monitoring the fence twice a day would cost about $ 2,000 a week, he said.
(Page Thomas Day / Acorn Outfitters, LLC)
The family relies on the dog at home to stop the intruder and notify the owner if anyone enters the property. But the house is always locked.
“We definitely don’t feel as safe as when we were driving relaxed. We weren’t worried,” Day said. “My daughter — she’s nervous. She’s not good at going to the barn herself, so either I or my mom needs to go there, so she works like she wants to do a goat on her show. She was with me in the ranger when we saw them — she was there when I caught them and made them sit on the ground. “
(Page Thomas Day / Acorn Outfitters, LLC)
In the morning when Day isn’t with the hunter, he takes his daughter to the barn and checks the show’s goats to make sure the intruder hasn’t stolen or slaughtered the goats for food. He is in the process of buying more game cameras to monitor human activity on his land, but they are sold out in many places, he said.
Border guards installed state-of-the-art camera towers on his land, but were unable to continuously monitor them or dispatch agents to respond when people were discovered. Even when Day called the border guard and reported on the people he met while on the go, he said, “Hey, Page, we’re too busy to take anyone there.” increase.
(Anna Giartelli / Washington Examiner)
“There’s probably a million dollars worth of equipment here, and it’s useless because it’s not available,” Day said before recommending sending the Texas National Guard to monitor the cameras.
The Texas Department of Public Security staff, which Day called a “blessing,” from all over the state to the area, is abundant in the Del Rio area. But Day said it was a bit difficult to work with soldiers because the border guard agents assigned to the area knew their land better than visiting them. Troopers primarily monitor highways and county roads, but only special response teams chase intruders. The characteristics of the day are comparable to a safari with dense mesquite bushes and black brushes.
“The rancher didn’t help until DPS helped us. We were like Wild West. We were alone. It was like in your own government where you are here. Yes, it was as if it was security and everything else. [Border Patrol] I couldn’t help you, “Day said.
He said it could hurt his business, even when a border guard agent could move to his property a couple of times a week. When he encounters illegal immigrants while commanding a hunting expedition, he tells them to get lost, calls the border guards and enters certain areas, especially not to “ruin the hunt”. I will ask you not. If it is the last day of the trip.
(Page Thomas Day / Acorn Outfitters, LLC)
Page said the Texas Department of Agriculture has requested the federal government to reimburse landowners for costs associated with damage left by intruders. He said he did not expect to see money through that initiative or from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and was talking about landowners suing President Joe Biden for property damage. .. Restoring a cut 8-foot-high fence costs about $ 26,000 per mile.
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“I think we’ve been in the last four years,” said Day, torn about how border wall ideas negatively impact landowners’ access to Rio Grande. Rather, he wants to see an effective deterrent against potential illegal immigrants and a return to Trump-era borders and immigration policy, which he regarded as an effective deterrent.
“We’re tired of being beaten and everything is happening, and now we’re almost saying,’Nothing will happen.’ We need to accept this, “Day said.
Washington Examiner Video
tag: news, Immigrants, Border crisis, DHS, Texas, hunting, Border guard, Foreign policy, Customs and Border Security, Human smuggling
Original author: Anna Giartelli
Original location: The 20,000-acre hunting grounds of border landowners will be a paradise for human smugglers
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