'Spineless': Texas rancher says leaders making US a 'laughingstock' as border residents live in fear
A lifelong Texan near the southern border condemned the federal government for repeatedly failing to enforce border security and for fighting a Texas law she believes would deter the illegal migrant surge that has left her scared in her own home.
"They're spineless," Shelly Means told Fox News. "We're a joke to other countries. The United States is the laughingstock."
"The ranchers and the landowners along the border, I don't believe it's fair for us to have to defend our southern borders or defend our home and our livelihood," Means said. "I don't feel safe at home alone anymore."
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A Republican-backed Texas law allowed local law enforcement to arrest and deport migrants accused of illegally entering the country. A whirlwind of court decisions put the law on hold as the federal government challenges the state's authority to enforce a law regarding immigration and international borders.
"Our law enforcement, I think if they are arresting people that are illegally entering our country, I am 100% for it," Means said. "If you or I were to enter a country illegally, I think that we would suffer repercussions as well."
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"I don't think that we need uncertain leaders," Means said. "I think we need somebody certain that's going to stand up for our southern borders and the people of the United States."
Means' family has ranched in Valentine, Texas, since 1884 approximately 20 miles from the Mexico border. Means said the illegal migrant surge since Biden took office has led to unprecedented crossings through her property.
"The leaders of our country need to have a backbone," Means said. "They have no backbone, and to allow this to happen is a travesty."
Migrant encounters at the southern border have frequently broken records under Biden's watch, including over 2.4 million migrant encounters during fiscal 2023, a sharp uptick from roughly 1.7 million in 2021, according to Customs and Border Protection data. In December, monthly migrant encounters skyrocketed to a record 302,000.
"I think we're going to hell in a handbasket if we can't protect our southern borders and what's going on down here and how it affects their own people," Means said. "We pay taxes to live in a free country. We're not free anymore."
The Texas native said her guest house was broken into last year, causing $60,000 in damage. She also found eight backpacks filled with contraband, including lethal drugs, on another occasion.
Meanwhile, Means' 81-year-old mom, who lives alone even closer to the border, had her front door kicked in and had various goods stolen, Means said.
"It's not just those people coming over for a better life," Means said. "It's the cartel. It's child trafficking."
Illegal immigration brings "everything that's killing the United States," she continued. "All the fentanyl, the drugs. It's horrible."
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Deadly drugs have flooded into the U.S. in recent years, with CBP seizing nearly 27,000 pounds of fentanyl along the southern border in fiscal year 2023 — an 89% increase from the previous year, data show. Officials also encountered 169 people on the FBI terror watchlist between ports of entry at the southern border that year, which exceeded the last six years combined.
"I am for legal immigration, but all of this invasion … our country is nuts for allowing this to happen," Means said. "I welcome anybody to come stay with me that thinks differently."
A Venezuelan migrant recently went viral after posting a TikTok video encouraging illegal immigrants to take advantage of squatting laws and invade abandoned American homes. He claimed several Africans he knew were doing exactly that.
"Once again, it goes all the way to the top. It's called spineless," Means said. "If an illegal is coming in and taking over a taxpayer's home or any home that doesn't belong to them, I think that they should just push the button and get them out and send them back to where they came from."
But Means said the federal government has repeatedly failed to address illegal immigration concerns, and she doesn't expect changes anytime soon.
"It's falling on deaf ears," Means said. "It doesn't matter who we talk to."