New Bill Would Battle The Lawlessness On Public Lands That Preceded Murder Of Rancher Robert Krentz

Now, this is what responsive elected officials look like!

Last week, Congress and the White House received nearly 200,000 faxes from citizens (through NumbersUSA’s website) demanding that the federal government stop the lawlessness and near-anarchy on our southern border that daily threaten U.S. citizens with the denial of their most basic civil right — LIFE.

The family and fellow ranchers of the recently murdered Robert Krentz also urged the federal government to respond immediately to the dangers along the Arizona/Mexico border.

Rep. Rob Bishop

Today, four Members of Congress — led by Rep. Rob Bishop of Utah — showed a profound sensitivity by introducing a simple bill that they believe will greatly increase the safety of Americans living near the border, while improving the health of the natural environment.

Under the bill (H.R. 5016), two agencies of the federal government would no longer be allowed to prevent another federal agency from trying to stop the illegal traffic across public lands.

THIS IS THE H.R. 5016 BILL IN ITS ENTIRETY:

Neither the Secretary of Interior nor the Secretary of Agriculture shall impede, prohibit, or restrict activities of the Secretary of Homeland Security on public lands to achieve operational control (as defined in section 2(b) of the Secure Fence Act of 2006 (8 U.s.C. 1701 note; Public Law 109-367) over the international land and maritime borders of the United States.

The four U.S. Congressmen stated in their introduction of the bill that Mr. Krentz on March 27 was “shot and killed by a criminal who entered and exited the U.S. through the (federal) San Bernardino Wildlife Refuge,” which borders Mexico.

They stated that the agency managing that large refuge severely restricts the Border Patrol’s access. The Mexican drug cartels that control most of the Mexican side of the border are well aware that the wildlife refuge is a virtual illegal-traffic sanctuary in which illegal aliens can tromp through with impunity.

The Congressmen wrote:

As a result of Border Patrol’s inability to properly monitor this area, illegal traffic is moving through the refuge on nearly a daily basis.

Tragically and ironic, the best routes for drug smugglers, slave traders, cheap-labor traffickers and terrorists are across 20.7 million acres along the border owned by the U.S. government.

Trying to put a stop to this travesty are the four sponsors of the new bill:

Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah), Ranking Member of the House National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee

Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.)
Ranking Member of the
House Natural Resources Committee

Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.)
Ranking Member of the
Homeland Security Committee

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas)
Ranking Member of the
House Judiciary Committee

According to these four:

Documents show that the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Forest Service have consistently and actively taken steps that prevent the Border Patrol from securing our nation’s borders on federal lands.
As a result, Border Patrol agents are being forced to wade through bureaucratic red tape just so they can do the job Congress has mandated: gain operational control over the U.S. border.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IS THE EXCUSE FOR LAWLESSNESS THAT DESTROYS THE ENVIRONMENT

The managers of these vast federal natural refuges are not obstructing the Border Patrol because they favor lawlessness or desire U.S. citizens around them to live in constant danger — or because they want their own personnel to be routinely placed in harm’s way.

Rather, these managers are charged with protecting the fragile ecosystems of plants and animals within their territory. But in the process, they are obstructing the use of electronic surveilance and seem to be making it nearly impossible much of the time for the Border Patrol to use vehicles in a timely manner to stop or deter the hundreds of thousands of illegal foreign entrants who march across the land.

Speaking for myself, I am glad these public lands managers take their jobs so seriously. I am glad that our government places such a high priority on ensuring that these natural areas and their non-human inhabitants survive to be there for future generations of human Americans.

But the current decisions about eco-protection not only endanger the lives of the human residents of our country but create grave damage to the eco-systems as well. Yes, the Border Patrol will cause some environmental damage if they do their job and stop illegal traffic across the public lands. But if they aren’t allowed to do their job, the illegal traffic will create even more environmental damage.

As the authors of the bill note:

These Wilderness areas suffer from mounds of discarded trash, dumping of toxic waste, destruction of plants, soil erosion and wildfires started by criminal cartels.

As we have previously reported on this website, when the Border Patrol has been allowed to do its job in deterring small armies of illegal aliens, whole eco-systems have sprung back to life from their trampled state.

My personal hope is that with the passage of H.R. 5016 the Border Patrol managers and personnel will be in constant communication with the public lands managers concerning ways that they can have as light of a footprint as possible while restoring order.

But the current eco-protection system clearly is not working.

Use our free on-line faxing system to encourage your Members of Congress to support H.R. 5016 for the sake of the environment and for the lives of the Americans living around the government land.

ROY BECK is Founder & CEO of NumbersUSA