‘It’s deliberate’: Border rancher fumes over admin’s opening of floodgates driving more illegal crossings

John Ladd, an Arizona cattle rancher with 16,000 acres near the southern border, recently told the New York Post that he is frustrated with the Biden-Harris administration for the unprecedented immigration crisis.

Ladd claimed that his ranch in Cochise County has become a hotspot for illegal immigration. He noted that, once again, the federal government has opened up the floodgates along the border for the three-month monsoon season, which results in an uptick in unlawful crossings.

'Even if it’s not raining anywhere near us.'

The Post reported last year about the administration’s seasonal opening of the 114 gates along the Arizona border wall. The massive gates are welded open to prevent them from being shut. Additionally, overwhelmed Customs and Border Protection resources prevent officers from being consistently stationed at the 12-foot doors to prevent and deter illegal crossings. The report noted that human traffickers exploit the opportunity to send thousands of illegal immigrants into the U.S.

In addition to the monsoon season, another reason the gates have been ordered opened is to allow for the migration of an endangered antelope species, officials told the Post last year.

Ladd said, “They’re drawing people to a certain area. It’s deliberate, there’s no other way to look at it.”

“It’s silly. There’s certainly a better idea than this,” Ladd continued. “If you gotta do it, shut them, you open them up for a flood and then shut them. Or have an agent here, but they can’t — they don’t have enough manpower to do that.”

“The biggest thing ... is we don’t have asylum seekers. The people we got don’t want to give up. And then we’ve got the load vehicles that pick them up and take them wherever they’re gonna go,” Ladd stated. “The majority of them are military-aged men. They’re from all over.”

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance spoke with Ladd during his visit to the southern border on Thursday. Ladd noted that he was “impressed” Vance requested his advice on addressing the ongoing crisis, adding that “nobody from the Biden administration has been here.”

A Border Patrol source told the Post, “It’s frustrating beyond belief that the floodgates on the line are open. It’s an open door right into the US.”

“What’s the point of a wall if they are just gonna have holes in it a few months of the year? They say it’s for monsoon season we gotta leave ’em open — even if it’s not raining anywhere near us,” the source added. “We get yelled at if we close the gates. It’s an open invitation to smugglers. I’ve seen trucks drive through the open gates. I’ve seen 50-plus bodies rush us. It’s a free-for-all.”

Ladd expressed his concerns to the Post about a potential Kamala Harris presidency, stating, “She’s not capable of running this country, and if she does it’ll be worse than Biden.”

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