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Subscribe to RSSWave after wave of Mexican drug and immigrant smugglers are crossing into the U.S., passing through the Arizona border where nearby ranchers say they feel unprotected by their own government. NBC's Mark Potter reports.
By Mark Potter, NBC News correspondent
ARIVACA, Ariz. -- Just before nightfall, 73-year-old rancher Jim Chilton hikes quickly up and down the hills on his rugged cattle-grazing land south of Tucson, escorting two U.S. Border Patrol agents.
He wants to show them the disturbing discovery he made earlier in the day: a drug-smugglers' camp on his private property. Stacked together under a stand of trees are blankets, jackets, food, water, binoculars and bales of marijuana from Mexico wrapped in burlap. The smugglers, themselves, are nowhere in sight and are believed to have fled the area, which is about 10 miles north of the Mexican border.
Rancher Jim Chilton shows what's left of a drug smugglers camp on his ranch.
"The druggers outrageously use my land at will," said Chilton, who frequently finds evidence of smugglers on his land -- well-worn trails, cut fences, discarded water bottles, clothing and shoes. His home has been burglarized twice and he is constantly on the lookout for armed smuggling groups while he and his employees round up cows on his remote land.
"Can you imagine riding your horse through here on your own land and running into a guy with an AK-47 and 20 or 30 guys behind him dressed in camouflage and carrying drugs?," he asked.
Hidden cameras in southern Arizona captured footage of armed drug smugglers in 2012.
Like living ‘in a no-man’s land’
The land where Chilton raises his cattle covers 50,000 acres south of the small town of Arivaca, Ariz. About five miles of his property runs along the international border, where all that separates Mexico from the United States in most areas there is a four-strand barbed-wire fence. Chilton owns some of the land outright, but leases most it from the state and federal governments for cattle grazing.
Mark Potter / NBC News
Ranchers Jim and Sue Chilton in Arivaca, Ariz., say drug smugglers use their land frequently, and their home has been burglarized twice.
He and his wife, Sue Chilton, complain they feel caught in the middle between the Mexican drug and immigrant smugglers and the United States Border Patrol, which the Chiltons and other ranchers accuse of concentrating most of its patrols and checkpoints miles north of the border, far beyond where the ranchers live and work.
"It's like living in a no-man's land. The Border Patrol doesn't really protect us, they try to arrest people north of us," said Chilton. "I think the druggers should be stopped at the United States border. They shouldn't be allowed into this country. The Border Patrol should secure the border at the border."
Ranchers Jim and Sue Chilton live on the U.S.-Mexico border where drug smugglers constantly walk across their property.
Jeffrey Self, who heads the U.S. Customs and Border Protection joint field command in Arizona, said it is not fair to characterize the area as a "no-man's land." He conceded, though, that Arizona ranchers are correct when they report Mexican drug and immigrant smugglers crossing their land.
"Yes, there is traffic out on those ranch lands. Communities continue to be impacted to a certain extent,” he said. “But you can't discount the fact that gains have been made over the course of the last few years.”
Jeffrey Self, head of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection joint field command in Arizona, says a lot of gains have been made at border protection, but acknowledges more is needed.
With 5,500 Border Patrol agents assigned to Arizona, double the amount stationed there in 2004, Self argued that much more territory is being patrolled now than in the past. And he said daily surveillance flights and advances in camera and sensor technology have also helped dramatically reduce the number of illegal border crossings.
"If you look back to 2000…there were 610,000 aliens arrested in Arizona,’ Self said. “Just look at last year, we came in at 119,000."
Over the past decade, however, there has been a dramatic rise in the amount of illegal drugs smuggled from Mexico into Arizona. The Border Patrol there seized about one million pounds of marijuana during each of the last several years -- about four times the amount seized in 2000. Other illicit drugs, such as heroin and meth, are also entering Arizona in greater quantities than ever before.
‘He came out screaming’
For neighboring rancher David Beckham the problem is even more severe. Earlier this year he made the painful decision to move himself, his wife and three boys away from their ranch, which sits about 12 miles north of the Mexican border.
Arizona rancher David Beckham says drug smugglers crossing his land forced him to move his family.
"It's not safe, it’s not safe for my kids," he said. The Beckhams have had numerous run-ins on their land with Mexican smugglers.
Their cattle fences are frequently cut and paths heading north from Mexico cross their property. Beckham says a smuggler even fired shots at him while he walked his land with a U.S. Border Patrol agent. Several illegal border crossers have also approached his house at night--one even reaching his hand into their bathroom window.
"Several years ago, one of my children was taking a shower and had a gentleman reach into the shower while he was in there, and he came out screaming, absolutely refusing to take a shower for the next couple months."
The Beckhams, like the Chiltons, scoff at the Obama administration’s claims the U.S.-Mexican border is safer than ever.
"It's a joke, they can believe what they want. They can live in candy land," said Beckham. "You can't have a safe and secure country without a safe and secure border, and we don't have it. We don't."
Sue Chilton says she believes a U.S. government decision to not to heavily patrol right along the border is, in effect, creating a free-access zone for Mexican smugglers.
"We have, without any reason or logic to it, decided to cede as much as 15 or 20 miles of the United States to the cartels, and we live in that section that has been ceded," she said. "They have lookouts in the mountains within a mile of our house."
Several advocacy groups concerned about border security have placed motion-activated hidden cameras near the Chilton's ranch and elsewhere in southern Arizona. Their videos, many of them shot recently, confirm the ranchers' complaints, revealing wave after wave of drug and immigrant smuggling groups, sometimes heavily armed, crossing U.S. land miles north of the Mexican border.
"First, it's a threat to our life," said Chilton. "Second, it's a threat to our livelihood."
Border Patrol: agents more thorough than ever
As to the complaint the Border Patrol places most of its patrols and checkpoints miles north of the border fence, Jeffrey Self of the Customs and Border Protection’s joint field command in Arizona said agents are assigned where they will be most effective in apprehending smugglers and illegal immigrants.
"I would get less out of putting those agents on the line than having them operate those checkpoints," He said.
Still, many agents do patrol the border fence, he said, and are "in and around those ranchers every day, 365 days a year." Serious problems stemming from distance and budgets, however, do hamper some daily Border Patrol operations. Agents stationed in Tucson have to drive as many as two hours a day just to reach parts of the remote and rugged border. And a spokesperson confirmed that a Border Patrol FOB (Forward Operating Base), built west of the Chilton ranch, is currently unmanned because there isn't enough money to pay agents' overtime fees. The FOB was built to house agents day and night right at the border near Sasabe, Ariz., and to reduce the current drive times.
Nevertheless, Self said, his agents are doing a better, more thorough job than ever.
"Is there still traffic coming across [ranchers’] property? Absolutely. Do we want them to feel safe in their homes? Absolutely. We're going to work toward that effort."
Drug smugglers move through Arizona in this footage captured by hidden cameras in 2012.
Ranchers describe smugglers as ‘desperate’
The Chiltons, Beckhams and other ranchers in southern Arizona give high marks to the Border Patrol agents, themselves, respecting the dangerous work they do and appreciating their willingness to help property owners in need.
The complaint they have is with where those agents are assigned. The ranchers also believe, as do many of the agents, themselves, that smugglers crossing the border now are more heavily armed and confrontational than in years past.
"They seem to be a lot more desperate. The people coming across now are different, they are not friendly," said Beckham.
Surveying her ranchland, Sue Chilton described what happens when smugglers walk close to their house at night: "We turn out the lights, Jim gets his guns and we sit somewhere in the dark in the middle of the house where we are not close to our window and wait for the action to be finished."
Her husband, Jim, who comes from several generations of ranchers, said he has never seen the border as dangerous as it is now.
"It's outrageous. I'm a citizen of the United States. I expect to be protected like everybody else," he said. "The border is not secure, it is worse than it's ever been."
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We can't afford to pay border patrols, but we can afford to pay unemployment and pay for illegals health, education, and medical costs? I know that illegals get just as much govt. assistance as any other group, because I have seen it first hand. Sad state of affairs!
Sad indeed...that votes are more important than security.
We certainly can afford to patrol every other country's border though. What a GD shame.
amen midnightridr very well said
I am ashamed of these ranchers and other U.S. taxpayers who would in the way of the poor illegal drug smugglers in their attempt to realize the American Dream! Haven't you been listening to the Obama propoganda?
ROFL
tiredobs - Blame everything on Obama, because it is the Republican way. Republicans are gods and never do anything wrong, except screw up our economy, start two wars unpaid for and torture and also refuse to compromise on legislation that would help protect our borders. Bush had control for 8 years, but I know this problem only exists under a democratic president. Let's all vote for republicans, so they can finish the job Bush started and then maybe America will no longer exist anymore. Republicans seem to be very good at this.
You are right, jaxminst, it is all Bush's fault.
By the way, the Obama wars are paid for...the continued welfare is not. Defense of this country is part of the constitution. Perpetual existence on welfare is not.
It was not Bush's fault because it was all the democrats in congress who obstructed Bush that caused everything.
We have every right to blame it on Obama. Didn't he campaign on immigration reform in 08? Yes he did. He did not campaign on granting back door amnesty right before an election. He did not campaign on Obamacare during election season in 08. He lied. He sent his cronie DOJ lapdogs to AZ to shutdown AZ's efforts to crack down on illegal immigration. Obama should be impeached for treason and locked up in GITMO where he can respectfully sympathize with the detainees and campaign for terrorist's rights. Maybe then, they can draw murals of his face all over the prison.
There are still 50,000 Americans in Iraq.
Another obama lie.
Buck Ofama!....And Buck Fush while you're at it, BOTH Fushs'
Yes he did.
For those who want to blame the liberals for the border problem....don't forget that it was Nancy Regan who started the "War on Drugs" that is continually loosing.
There is a segment of the population that will use drugs no matter what and the cost and legal status of these drugs is irrelevant. If pot was legal and as common as crabgrass most people would not be smoking it. Those who would be smoking it are the same people who are smoking it now.
I'm sure the boarder patrol has made some progress in Arizona. However I suspect that the primary reason that the number of illegals they are now arresting is dramatically dropped since 2000 is because of the piss poor economy in the US.
If drugs were legalized, or at least decriminalized so the drugs would be de-valued it would not be worth the effort for the cartels to carry machine guns and pack this crap over our border. They would have to go back to stealing cars and hubcaps, and the electronic nature of today's vehicles makes this less profitable and viable than ever before.
So if the drugs had no value of significance, those employed by the cartel would have no job. They would have to go back to being poor people trying to get across the border to work and being honest would not be a problem because the high monetary reward the drugs bring would no longer exist.
For a teacher you sure are awful ignorant. Do a little research, Tricky Dick Nixon started the war on drugs.
Kinda, but Nancy Reagan took it to a new level. Her obection was moral Nixon's was financial Big busines (oil included) wanted help out of production everywhere. We Even forced other countries to sign treaties agreeing they would never legalize or face financial sanctions.
Legalize growing, possession and use and smuggling along the border ends. Another bonus is we empty an enormous number of prison cells thus also freeing up billions of dollars.
Sounds great but then you have kidnapping sex slavery meth and even harder drugs coming over the border. Currently young American teenage girls are being kidnapped and taken back into Mexico for the sex trade. They are shot up with drugs and used int he most despicable ways. This is the level of bold criminality that is coming over the border.
You can create all the programs, and put up all the walls, electric fence all you want. Still wont solve the problem. The problem is Mexico. Mexico is where the drugs come from, Mexico is where the illegal immigrants come from, and Mexico is where illegal gun running ends up at. Mexico is also the easiest way for terrorists to get in to the US. I can understand why so many Mexicans in Northern Mexico are willing to sneak across the border, look whats happen down there. Mass murders, be-headings, crooked politicians and law enforcement in every town. Funny, how we keep going into every country overseas to set up or stabilize governments, protect the innocent, yet here we sit with this crap going on right at our back door. Mexican government has lost it's ability to control it's drug problem, and it's border. Time for us to fix the problem for them. We go down there, clear out the drug cartels, eliminate those who prey on the innocent. We go in, and protect the innocent, let those towns get back to being productive communities, thus creating a safe and honest government as well. We have a lot military men women coming back stateside, and what better way to utilize their training, their skills to protect our borders, and also to purge northern Mexico of the filth that is spilling into our back yards.
Nuke Mexico and turn that fu kin sand box into a glass parking lot.
These ranchers should be allowed to put up an S.O.S. every time the smugglers come onto their property.
S.O.S. = Shoot On Sight.
After the smoke clears, time to clean up, get the front end loader and push them back to their own country, and there is another hand full of smugglers that will not be returning... no calls needed...anything left behind of any value, is for your personal use as you see fit...
Didn't need to bother the law enforcement people,
Didn't have to do any paperwork,
Didn't have to put anybody in jail,
All that's left to do is load up the rifle for the next set...
Or, yes, weed could just be legalized - whatever you prefer...
But that still leaves the illegal’s just coming through on their own - we can't make that legal, I guess we could apply the same rule - again, whatever you prefer...
If just one of the drug dealers was shot by a rancher the rancher would be prosecuted. Mexico has a serious overpopulation problem and they want to dump their excess off on us. Once here these people continue their irresponsible birth rate growth with little thought as to how to care for children. Makes me sick.
fightfor freedom how right you are... a while back a rancher held some 15 or so illegal (NOT UNDOCUMENTED GRRRR)till the law got there. these pos sued him and he had to sell his damn ranch to give them money...how damn much bs is that? i woulda went to jail for ridding the world of a few ILLEGALS smh
Is it possible that the reason why the government talks about their successes in securing the border but in reality is failing miserably in protecting our country is because there are powerful people in our government who want to keep the border open so drugs can come into this country? Is it possible that down the line that there is a plan to make North South and Canada all one country? What do you think?
I wonder if the Feinstein and the gun-grabbers know they are going to be putting defenseless Americans in harms way when they take away the means by which Americans could protect themselves from the growing menace of the Mexican drug gangs in our nation's cities and towns?
Toxic mortgage scam, LIBOR fraud = growing inability of America's cities and towns to provide police and fire services.
We have enough surplus mines to carpet the whole length of that border a mile deep just planting them on one foot centers! Missle testing sites need to move on the border!! Most target ranges need to follow!!! Armed DRONE training ONLY on the border!!!! Chemical 'Testing' could be implemented if these measures don't improve security!!!!! After all who could bitch about it except north-bound NARCO-TERRORISTS and 'thier' TREASONIST supporters!!!!!!
Oh shut up! People that are not near the border do not get additional protection from the white, black, or what ever nationality drug dealers that are in the non border areas!!! GET A GRIP! and BTW most people trying to sneak in do not want to interact with you it defeats the idea of sneaking in! stupid
As horrible as it sounds.. it will take a drastic and catastophic event to get the government to secure the border..America didn't want to be involved in "Europes War" ( WWII ) until the Surprise attack on Pearl Harbor Dec 17th 1941..And No legalizing pot wont financially break the cartels.In all the tunnels found you never hear of large stores of coke, meth, or heroin being found.. but there are tonnes of marijuana..Ever wonder why?? Pot has the lowest profit margin, its the bulkiest, and honestly more of a distraction so ICE and BP can focus their attention AWAY from the more profitable drugs.. Ultimately it will take an attitude change of our society as well as the government. If nobody wanted to buy illegal recreational drugs there would be no market to service. If the illegal immigrant knew he could not get work because he was illegal he would not come to this country for employment. If the pregnant girl knew her child would not automatically be an American by birth she would stay home with family to have the child..If the stateside employers knew they could be audited 10 years back on their employment records and fined 10 times the payroll of the illegal immigrants, employment security would have been accomplished a decade ago
The reason things are the way they are and always will be is because the gov and their rich puppet masters are getting ridiculously wealthy from it. It is what it is and theres not a damn thing any of us peons are ever gonna be able to do to change it. It only gets worse going forward. Prepare to defend and take care of your own, Lock and Load Baby!
Hello folks, doesn't Arizona have a law, I believe it is known locally as SB1070 or Senate Bill 1070, which is aimed at discouraging illegal immigrants from entering or remaining in the state. It expanded the powers of state police officers to ask about the immigration status of anyone they stop, and to hold those suspected of being illegal immigrants.
I think this is not only a good law but one that has been long overdue and should be enforced rigorously around our entire country, don’t you?
But in order for it to be truly legal and moral it can only be enforced by Native American Indians.
A rifle, few thousand rounds of ammo and an excavator to bury the trash....
When we lived in Yuma and went fishing we were always asked for ID and where we were born. We are as white as can be. The Ranchers should be protected and should be able to shoot them when they are on private property or break into the house.
CBP obviously is NOT protecting anyone along the border. Too busy hassling Citizens on the Highway way North of the border.
Said it before MCAS Yuma should be allowed to train along the border with prejudice.They should also have target practice and shelling on non private land.. Long range target practice unlike what they have on base. I would think a sniper type targets.
With the home owners able to defend themselves and MCAS using non private lands (careful of livestock) with a few oops..
we should have the border secured in no time. CBP has to let a lot of them go per obama. This way its more of a obstical
course. The Constitution gives us the RIGHT to protect ourselves, our Families and property.
every time I watched the video on the border and reported anything when I went back the camera was moved so that couldn't see anything. So I don't believe they want to catch the illegals.
They don't make sure the cameras are pointed at a angle to actually do any good and if the wind knocks it around, go out and Fix IT. But no, its left cause no one actually bothers checking
Shoot the mules. No repeat offenders. The warm and fuzzy just does not cut it.
Something will happen one day that will set the American citizens on fire and the platitudes of the US government will not be sufficient to stop them from protecting their property and lives... and the Mexican government be damned right along with Washington.
Right on Mimi, Lock and Load Baby!
If it was in Sweden, he could not do anything as property trespassing laws
only apply to house yards.
Everyone have access to forests and fields and 2 night camping can be done anywhere.
It works in Sweden as they are pretty civilized over there.
But sometimes some Pole's start picking your strawberries in your yard as they
think everything-for-everyone rule included your planted vegetables and fruit.
If you tried that in America we'd all be living in a landfill.
I don't belong to PETA,but I'd make sure the coyotes would be eatin good. Should be Open Season on smugglers,one shot,one kill situation..Probably usin weapons e.holder gave them...
I think Obama is well aware of border insecurity, he just does not care. Caring about citizens of America is not part of his plan.
no he cares, his constituants are telling him, we hate texans and there goddam arroagance
listen youll hear
Well, since Arizona is a Republican state, they don't believe anybody should pay tax, and they don't want a big federal government, so its tough luck. I suggest they go to a gun show and buy a bunch of Bushmasters and hire some illegal Mexicans to patrol their own land.
The problem with your snarky little comment is that the big bad federal government won't keep its nose out of Arizona's efforts to take care of its own border and illegal alien problems... so it can get off its fat ass and do it for them, as the Constitution requires it to do.
maybe had you coward paid these people non slave wages the situation wouldnt be so fubar
If i went on someones land with a gun illegally would in most cases get a ass full of lead. These skum should get the same and more.
Right on, these ass holes are not only invading our country and trespassing on privately owned property, but are doing it expressly for the purpose of committing a felony according to our laws AND theirs. And we can't even shoot the bastards?
you mean you dont get to blow the brain out of a 12 year old drug runner, thats horrible man, goddam O
I love the strategy of the border patrol. We're first and goal lets drop back to our own 20, that'll fool 'em.I guess there's less shooting 90 miles away from the border.I bet if we moved the check points to Yellowstone the drug runners would know it before we got there.
Hell, they'd beat them there. I don't believe for a sec that they are even trying to do anything about it. They claim 12 million illegals? BS man, everywhere you go all you see is brown.
there easy to spot, go to any worksite, and youll c whos working for the money and who the leaches are
The situation at the border is an embarrassment to the U.S. and highlights the Obama Administration's desire to coddle ILLEGAL aliens. Obama and his Chicago cabal are obviously more concerned about foreign nationals than they are about our own citizens......
Can we charge Obama with TREASON yet???
Here's plenty of evidence.