MCALLEN, Texas–Breitbart Texas invited a team of Texas grassroots leaders to tour the Texas-Mexico border. The tour began on Friday, July 25, 2014 and concluded on Sunday, July 27, 2014.
The purpose of the trip was to highlight holes in border security in the Laredo and Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol. During the trip, Border Patrol agents in the National Border Patrol Council shared their firsthand experiences with the grassroots leaders in hopes of affecting change for the conditions of the men and women in the U.S. Border Patrol who are protecting the specific sectors.
Breitbart Texas Managing Director Brandon Darby, who organized the tour, described the intentions and plans of the group’s effort. “The federal government, the State of Texas, and the media have presented a picture that the increase in security in the Rio Grande Valley sector is somehow representative of an increase in security along all of Texas’ border with Mexico,” Darby said. “The Laredo sector is the next sector over and it is largely wide open. We wanted grassroots leaders to witness for themselves what the reality is and we wanted them to feel what the often solo agents feel out there along the river.”
Julie McCarty, President NE Tarrant Tea Party described the trip as “emotionally confusing: One second I’m swelling with pride and patriotism as our kick-butt Texas gun boats pull up with a load of tough-looking officers, flags flying, and moments later I’m embarrassed and ashamed for my state and country as I watch a woman waltz illegally into our country without fear in broad daylight.”
“The Rio Grande Valley sector of the border is a Potemkin village,” Darby said. “While progress has been made there, most of the border is still wide open.”
In an interview with Breitbart News, grassroots leader Dwayne Stovall, Director Keep Texas Free, expressed outrage over manipulation of Illegal immigration data for political end as well the “incredible lack of manpower.”
Mary Huls, President Clear Lake Tea Party, echoed Stovall’s rebuke of the government, stating that she’s “struck by the vast expanse between reality and rhetoric of politicians.”
Llano Tea Party founder Bill Hussey said that “the self-inflicted immigration crisis is harmful to our economy, health services and fiscal responsibilities. More important than this is the danger women and children put themselves in attempting to get to America’s social welfare. Addressing these issues exposes Texans to unnecessary security risks.”
“Border security is a myth,” said Dale Huls, Executive Board Member Clear Lake Tea Party. “Neither the politicians or the media are telling Texans the real truth, which is the border is not secure and there is no plan.”
Darby said that the Border Patrol often bears the brunt of the misinformation and lack of planning. “We wanted to help bring a voice to Border Patrol agents who often have to sit silently while the federal government presents dishonest information to the American public,” he said.
JoAnn Fleming, Executive Director of Grassroots America – We the People, also said that she has felt mislead by the government. “While the focus has been on the children, warnings from law enforcement about the dangerous criminal elements pouring across the border go ignored,” she said. “These agents don’t even have the working equipment they need… Anybody who says the border is secure is the worst kind of liar.”
All of the grassroots leaders who participated expressed intentions to return to their communities across the state, inform their groups of what they witnessed, and build political pressure for increased border security. Specifically, they are calling for exhaustive spacing tours of the state.
Darby summed up the purpose for the trip: “We came here to advocate for Americans to work towards the security we all deserve and to stop the humanitarian catastrophes that are a result of our nation’s open border policies.”
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