Last week former Border Patrol Agent, George Taylor, testified before a Congressional Committee hearing regarding America’s growing border security issues. After 43 years law enforcement experience Taylor calls it like he sees it and this former BP Agent points to the National Parks and designated Wilderness Land along the southern border as the main culprit in the uptick of cartel smuggling activities.
“The root problem remains, Federal Wildlife Refuges, Wilderness and Designated Wildernesses of various varieties that serve to keep Border Patrol Agents from effectively and safely securing the border on these federal lands,” Taylor explained.
Retired Border Patrol Agent Taylor, who testified on behalf of an organization he co-founded, National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers (NAFPBO), a non-political group committed to securing the nation’s borders, gave Congressional members a frank assessment of the unrelenting violence along the border region.
The designation of millions of acres in Wilderness Parks means one thing- keeping Border Patrol out. The result is much more ominous- drug cartels can now operate without law enforcement distraction.
“The violence continues to escalate. Thousands of pounds of illegal drugs and thousands of illegal aliens from all over the world are traversing the area,” Taylor contends. With this new right-of-way, the smugglers are now free to commit atrocities like rape, murder and robbery as well as considerable environmental damage.
This vast federal land set the stage for the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry in December of last year.
On that fateful day, Terry’s Border Patrol team was responding to reports that “rip crews” (those who rob/rape illegal aliens making their way into the U.S.) were operating in the area. It is well-known to Border Patrol Agents that “rip crews” are heavily armed and very dangerous.