For some Texas residents, influx of migrants has brought drastic changes to everyday
For some Texas residents, influx of migrants has brought drastic changes to everyday life
by KRISTINE FRAZAO | The National Desk
Fri, March 24th 2023, 8:28 PM EDT
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Rancher Randy Nunns, left, and Monarch Ranch manager Doug Meyer, right, overlook a bat cave on the property near Del Rio, Texas, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023. Nunns and fellow landowners along the Devil's River argue that proposed wind turbines would kill birds, bats and disrupt monarch butterflies migrating to Mexico and impact ecotourism, a main source of income for many. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
KINNEY COUNTY, TEXAS (TND) — There is a lot of debate in Washington over the best way to deal with the influx of migrants from all over the world making the long perilous journey to our southern border. In the meantime, there have been drastic changes to everyday life for those living near the border that have altered the way they live and work.
At the Seven Shoe Ranch in Kinney County, Texas, it's just about always feeding time with more than 60 goats traversing the terrain — most of them babies — and not far, their protector Festus the donkey can usually be found.
These days, ranch owner Joe Robinette said he needs far more protection for his property.
“Two and a half years ago we would see just an occasional [migrant]. Now we see them monthly sometimes weekly," Robinette said, referring to migrants who entered the country illegally and carry out part of their journey on his ranch.
It's a reality, he said has upended his sense of security, even while he and his wife Eva sleep. He gave Sinclair a tour of his property in February.
“Right here at the bedroom window, we’ve had groups there in the middle of the night at 2:00 in the morning. They’ve broken into my home here and they stole my father‘s pistol that he left me," he said.
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FILE - Officials take pictures along the U.S.-Mexico border, May 11, 2021, in Roma, Texas. Texas lawmakers are proposing laws that would make it a felony to cross the border from Mexico illegally and create a new border police force that could deputize private citizens in a continued push to test the limits of the federal government's authority over immigration.(AP Photo/Gregory Bull, file)
He says he now insists Eva carry a gun while she walks the property.
"We like to walk to keep healthy but right now our life is not safe," she said.
The new reality for the couple has also been costly.
“They let 12,000 gallons out of my tank flow out on the ground. They turn it on to get water and I guess they just left it on," Robinette said.
For him and most of his neighbors, one of the biggest complaints is about the property damage.
He said every other week he’s coming out to repair wire in the fencing that’s been cut or wooden stays that have been broken in half, repairs that often reach thousands of dollars each year.
“I’m losing animals. One day I watched six of my deer run through here because this hole was cut," he said showing The National Desk's Kristine Frazao a large gap in his wire fence.
In Kinney County, Texas, apprehensions of undocumented immigrants have nearly tripled from 1,124 in 2020 to 3,192, according to the Kinney County Sheriff's Office, about the same as the population of the entire county.
Back at the ranch, Eva and Joe Robinette said it’s a struggle, wanting to treat those they encounter with humanity but also fearing for their safety each and every day.
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