Report from the border

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Minuteman, Mar 19, 2006.


  1. Minuteman

    Minuteman Chaplain Moderator Founding Member

    I just spent two weeks down in South Texas on the Mexican border. Thought I would give you all a report on what it's like down there.
    I had seen the news reports on the border situation and could tell that things were bad, but I was taken by complete surprise when I got down there in person. The news does'nt tell half the story.
    I was on an oil lease just 5 miles from the Rio Grande river about 60 miles south of Laredo.
    The first noticible difference was that all the leases have guards at the main gates. Visiting with the guards I got a first hand account of life on the border. We got "alerts" about three times a week of parties of illegals in our area. Just a couple of miles down the road from the main gate the dirt road made several "S" turns. All of us drove that road at all hours, nearly everyday. One night some illegals had stole a car in one of the nearby towns and the cops were after them. They came up the road to our oil lease and when they hit the s curves lost control and plowed out into the mesquite bushes. Two were caught and two more escaped on foot. The cop told our gate guard that he had been doing 100 miles and hour right before the illegals lost it. If any of us had been on the road that night we could have been killed.

    But that is'nt the biggest danger. The area is criss crossed with pipe lines and dotted with wells."Pumpers" travel the area checking on things and they told me that they saw as many as a dozen groups passing through a week. There were several of them who had these groups rush them while they were out of thier trucks. It is common for the illegals to try and car jack anyone who is stopped on the road. Even tho company policy forbids firearms on company property, most of these guys won't go out into the bush without protection.

    I kew that we had a problem with our border security, but I never realized just how bad it is until I saw it first hand. There is no security. In my two weeks I only saw a couple of border patrol vehicles and they were on the highways. The back roads and open lands where we work are a major corridor with a steady stream of illegals pouring through nearly on a daily basis.

    I have been in foriegn, third world countries where I felt safer than I did right here in the U.S. along our Texas border lands. That's not right. We have a major problem and we have to address it. After my stint down there I am all in favor of stationg our troops there.
     
  2. armac

    armac Monkey+++

    I live in McAllen, you guys been around here? Lots of drug traffic here.
     
  3. E.L.

    E.L. Moderator of Lead Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    [ditto] I understand Minuteman. I was born and for the most part raised about 60 miles from the border. It is bad. Something needs to be done. Thanks for the report. [winkthumb]
     
  4. Minuteman

    Minuteman Chaplain Moderator Founding Member

    I'm headed back down that way Wednesday. I never realized how bad it really is. It's eye opening. We were averaging about 12 groups a week with 6-10 in a group, and those were just the ones spotted. So your looking at about 100 a week coming through just a 20 mile stretch of border.
     
  5. E.L.

    E.L. Moderator of Lead Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    And those are just the ones you see.
     
  6. Blackjack

    Blackjack Monkey+++

    I had no idea things were "that" bad down there. Any good paying security jobs to be had?[​IMG]

    I guess all the illegal immigrants up here (Indiana/Kentucky border) have to be coming from somewhere...... We just got our second "all spanish" radio station and the cops are having to take classes in spanish. Pretty sad.
    [​IMG]
     
  7. melbo

    melbo Hunter Gatherer Administrator Founding Member

    This should not really be a surprise mm... our borders are wide open
    by design it seems as nothing is done to close them. :evil:

    "focus on the ____________ instead"
     
  8. Aptus

    Aptus Monkey+++ Founding Member

    “In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way.”
    Franklin D. Roosevelt

    I think I'd have to agree with you Melbo. :)
     
  9. warhead2

    warhead2 Monkey+++ Founding Member

    u know im 22 and this just piss me off i work security and get tired of talking to Mexicans and ask them whats going on and there like k k k what ... k anyways i persony don't have anything against them the whole border thing just gets to me to the point that i think there should be a gun towers every half mile with GE mini guns and signs in Spanish will shoot on site OK im off my [soap]
     
  10. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    My $.02:

    Close the borders, stop the illegal entry totally. Send all illegals back, UNLESS they have dependents born IN COUNTRY, and then only with an amnesty that will permit them to seek permanent citizenship, not a green card with no time limit. And put them on the bottom of the lottery list. I have some friends that would like a green card, but are going after it the right way, and I do not want them to be pushed down the list in favor of current illegals. More, there will be no IDs (driver's licenses and the like) issued without verified visa status. No social services, either, and no schools for kids not born in country. (Make conditions here like they are back home, and home might look better and give them incentive to take action at home.) Minimal English to be required, if you can't speak English, back you go, with an exception for elderly family members of naturalized citizens and legal green card holders.

    The contractor under my charge employs large numbers of hispanics. They are hard workers and skilled, to boot, the contractor is going to make a mint because of their efforts. And, they are drawing a decent wage. I really like the way they operate. So far as I know, they are all legal, and are welcome.

    This crap about how the immigrants take jobs that we won't do is just that. Sure, they are willing to work for less, they want to stay here, and at the same time stay under the radar. Yes, if wages go up to entice our own people into the trade, there will be some dislocations and economic disruption. But it will be a benefit in the long haul, as the under the table wage will go away, and tax revenue (as bad as that is) wil go up as well. I see no downside.

    My problem is only with illegals. Period. This is a case where the law in not being enforced and it definately should be. I do NOT see a reason for more law, but I do see reason enough for strengthening enforcement. If it takes a fence to ease the need for BP people we don't have and won't get, so be it.
     
  11. E.L.

    E.L. Moderator of Lead Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    It is going to take a fence, or better yet a wall to keep them out. I think it should be a wall, not a fence that is easily cut and entered. Unless of course we have two fences, patroled by pitt bulls inside that are AIDS infected. Nothing's meaner than a pitt bull with AIDS, or so I hear. :lol: I think we need a fence/wall on the entire border, and our military needs to be relocated to the border so they can protect it.
     
  12. Quigley_Sharps

    Quigley_Sharps The Badministrator Administrator Founding Member

    Hire Germans to guard our Border.
     
  13. Minuteman

    Minuteman Chaplain Moderator Founding Member

    Just got this in a news letter;

    http://www.azcentral.com/12news/news/articles/borderstory0104-CR.html


    Guardsmen overrun at the Border <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:eek:ffice:eek:ffice" />
    12 News
    Jan. 4, 2007 02:44 PM

    <?xml:namespace prefix = v ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" /><v:shapetype id=_x0000_t75 stroked="f" filled="f" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" coordsize="21600,21600"><v:stroke joinstyle="miter"></v:stroke><v:formulas><v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"></v:f></v:formulas><v:path o:connecttype="rect" gradientshapeok="t" o:extrusionok="f"></v:path><o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"></o:lock></v:shapetype><v:shape id=_x0000_i1025 style="WIDTH: 9pt; HEIGHT: 7.8pt" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="video"><v:imagedata o:href="http://www.azcentral.com/imgs/i_video.gif" src="file:///C:/DOCUME~1/T/LOCALS~1/Temp/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.gif"></v:imagedata></v:shape>National Guard unit stormed while patroling the border
    <v:shape id=_x0000_i1026 style="WIDTH: 9pt; HEIGHT: 7.8pt" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="video"><v:imagedata o:href="http://www.azcentral.com/imgs/i_video.gif" src="file:///C:/DOCUME~1/T/LOCALS~1/Temp/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.gif"></v:imagedata></v:shape>Border attack raises security concerns

    A U.S. Border Patrol entry Identification Team site was overrun Wednesday night along Arizona's border with Mexico.

    According to the Border Patrol, an unknown number of gunmen attacked the site in the state's West Desert Region around 11 p.m. The site is manned by National Guardsmen. Those guardsmen were forced to retreat.


    The Border Patrol will not say whether shots were fired. However, no Guardsmen were injured in the incident.

    The Border Patrol says the incident occurred somewhere along the 120 mile section of the border between Nogales and Lukeville. The area is known as a drug corridor. Last year, 124-thousand pounds of illegal drugs were confiscated in this area.

    The Border patrol says the attackers quickly retreated back into Mexico.

     
  14. E.L.

    E.L. Moderator of Lead Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    The solution:


    <CENTER>[​IMG]</CENTER>

    <CENTER>[SIZE=+2]General Electric XM214 Minigun [/SIZE]</CENTER>
    [​IMG] The XM214 Automatic Gun (aka the Minigun) was developed for use mounted in and on helicopters and light aircraft. Like most G.E. Gatling gun type weapons it has six rotating barrels and the potential for a absolutely incredibly high rate of fire. It is electrically driven, and has a firing rate that can be adjusted from 1000 rpm all the way up to a unbelievable 10,000 rpm. In addition to that, it can be set to fire bursts from 30 to 1000 rounds. A real drawback to the higher rates of fire is off course the huge ammunition usage (166 shots per second) , and the power requirements, because firing it at full power it requires some 3.2 hp to drive the barrel assembly.

    <TABLE cols=2 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD width="15%">Gun Weight:</TD><TD width="85%">30 lbs (14 kg)</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD>Ammo Weight:</TD><TD>35 lbs (16 kg) per 1000 rounds</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD>Battery Weight:</TD><TD>7 lbs (3.5 kg) for 1000 rounds fired</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD>Caliber:</TD><TD>.223 NATO.</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD>Overall Length:</TD><TD>39 inch (100 cm).</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD>Action:</TD><TD>Electrically Powered Gatling.</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD>Mode of Fire:</TD><TD>Full Auto Only.</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD>Range:</TD><TD>1,000 feet (300 meters).</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD>Magazine:</TD><TD>1000 round Backpack.</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD>Cost:</TD><TD>$ 25,000 for the Minigun alone.</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD>Made in:</TD><TD>USA.</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD>Special:</TD><TD>Immense firepower, coupled with a incredible intimidation factor. Military issue only! </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

    <HR width="92%" SIZE=9>
     
  15. Minuteman

    Minuteman Chaplain Moderator Founding Member

    bagged my limit!!

    I was on my way down the 8 miles of lease road when I saw up ahead what I thought were some deer crossing the road. I slowed down and as I drove past I saw 6 men trying to hide in the mesquite bushes. I drove on to the gate and was telling the gate guard when his dog started barking. We saw a guy trying to sneak past us in the ditch beside the blacktop road. We called Border patrol and the gate guard (a retired Navy MCPO) kept an eye on the one guy and I drove back to where I could watch the others.

    The BP caught the guy on the road and rounded up 5 of the 6 that I saw. Not a bad haul, only one got away.

    later a BP agent told us that the men were from El Salvador and were waiting for someone to come and pick them up.

    They were unarmed(luckily for us, or them) and offered no resistance. But the BP agent told us that a lot of times the person picking them up is armed to the teeth and to never confront them.

    I have heard the story, but can't confirm it, that a couple of years ago several armed El Salvadoran gang members came up to a drilling site in the area and robbed the workers and took several of their vehicles. The number varies, but the story says that many of the 20 some workers were killed.

    I do know for a fact that many of the gate guards here have been found beaten up and robbed. They are usually a retired couple who live in their travel trailer or motorhome and log in everyone who comes into the site. They are not really "guards". But we have started hiring a lot of retired military for the job. They are usually miles from the drilling site and very isolated.

    We have "Pumpers" who run the pipelines and check all the wells in a field. Many of them have told me stories of being out of their truck and being rushed by illegals. They stay within feet of their running vehicle and carefully scan the area before they get out.

    It is "official" company policy that no firearms are allowed on company property. So we all abide by that ;) . I had a guy just a few weeks ago who got out to open a gate and was rushed by 5 illegals. He fired off two rounds in the air and said that he was searching for a target with the third,but they had scattered.

    Such is life on the border. It is like the old west down here. Or a third world country. You probably don't see much in the cities,but you get out into the wilds like we are and it is a different world. I have been in the Middle East and felt more secure and relaxed than on the US/Mexico border.

    I'm strongly considering your idea E.L. of mounting a 1919 or that minigun on my truck. I wonder how my Ram would look with a turret?
     
  16. E.L.

    E.L. Moderator of Lead Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Just paint Federale Policia on the side of your truck, they will think they are still in Mehico and keep on walking.
     
  17. Tango3

    Tango3 Aimless wanderer

    Jesus, thanks for the report! rushed by 5 or 6 at a time is no time for a bolt action. This is an eyeopener never realized it was this bad...
     
  18. jim

    jim Monkey+++ Founding Member

    Many years ago, it was legal to shoot them and should still be so. However, try that now and you'll end up in Federal Court.
    jim
     
  19. Tango3

    Tango3 Aimless wanderer

    carried by 6 or judged by 12???
     
  20. Minuteman

    Minuteman Chaplain Moderator Founding Member

    A new threat on the border. I have been down here on the Tex-Mex border for over a year now. And I have adapted to the security awarenes that you have to have here.
    We have learned to survey our surroundings carefully before exiting your vehicle. Another tactic that we have learned to counter is closed gates. They started a couple of months ago closing the gates at night. Before that all the incidents were in the day time. We now stop and shine a high powered light around the perimeter before exiting the truck. Now they have started hiding in the ditches and when the truck goes by they run behind it and crouch down by the rear bumper. You can't see them there and then when you return from opening the gate they have moved up and crouched beside the drivers side wheel.

    Approaching your vehicle at night with the lights on you are blinded and can't see them until you walk up to the vehicle. We have had several close calls like that lately. Even if armed you have to scramble backwards to get some distance between you so you can draw your weapon. So now we turn our headlights off and carry a flashlight in one hand and our weapon in the other.

    We are usually miles from any town or house and very isolated. I have been in one field that has an 8 mile private lease road back into the drill site. The only security is a gate guard at the main gate on the county road who logs people coming and going.
    There are 6 gates between the road and the drill site and that can be a long lonely drive, especially at night.

    So whenever we get a chance we go to the nearest town and get a hot meal or stay in a hotel. that is our down time and time to let our guards down. Well, not anymore. A couple of weeks ago one of the contract workers on my rig was staying at a motel and was returning from dinner when he was kidnapped by 3 Mexicans.

    Working in the oil business all over the world I have seen kidnapping oil workers in South America and some places in Africa, practiced frequently as a business. At any one time in S. America there are several oil workers being held. It doesn't get any publicity because it is so common place. The oil companies pay a small ransom and the workers are released and back to work in a few days. The price of doing business in third world countries. Until now.

    Learning from thier Southern nieghbors it seems that Mexican gangs have decide to make some easy money by kidnapping oil workers here in S. Texas.

    The guy from my rig was walking through the parking lot when two men came up behind him, grabbed him, and put a knife to his throat. A car pulled up and they forced him into the back seat and made him lay on the floor board. They tied a bandana around his eyes and drove him across town to another motel. They took him inside a room and tied him to a chair. In the early morning hours, around 3 am they got him up, untied him, and walked him outside, he had his hands in his pockets. They appoached the back of a running car and one of the men let go of his arm and went to open the trunk leaving only the one guy holding onto him. He still had his room key in his pocket and he whipped his hand out of his pocket and raked the key across the guys face that was holding him. The guy let him go and he took off running. He said he ran through an alley and hopped some fences and finally came to an all night convenience store and ran inside and called the cops. The cops said that they had had several instances of that lately an that the men would have taken him to Mexico and held him for ransom.

    I expect that sort of thing in Nigeria, Ecudor, Bolivia, Phillipines, places like that where we normally work. But I never thought I would have to be on guard for it right here in the USA.
     
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