Illegals Looking for Work Don't Scare These Ranchers. But This Does

US-MEXICO BORDER -- Warner Glenn's family first settled along the Arizona-Mexico border in 1896. The 80-year-old works his ranch in Douglas, Arizona, each day, and is well known throughout the area.

Glenn says illegal immigrants have always been a part of the landscape.

"We moved down here in '62," Glenn said. "And at that time, there would be two or three illegals coming through, looking for work. And all the ranchers worked 'em."

"They were wonderful for hard labor type work and good cowboys, if you needed a cowboy," he said. "But I tell you -- nowadays, the few that are coming through are pretty hard-core, and especially the drug guys."

A Terrorist's Gateway

That drug trade results in an overall rise in crime.

"If they go by a residence and there's nobody there, they are going to go in and look around," Glenn said. "And firearms, top of the list. Any kind of jewelry, top of the list. Cash, top of the list."

Billy Grossman is a cowboy who lives nearby.

"We don't lock the doors 'cause they'd just break the window anyway," he told CBN News.

Grossman says illegal immigrants have entered his home a number of times. He recently caught a smuggler trying to steal his truck. The truck had a bale of marijuana in the back, along with a number of stolen items from Grossman's house.

But petty theft isn't what worries these old cowboys the most. They're more concerned about potential terrorists coming over the border.

"That would be nothing for a terrorist from ISIS or these guys -- it'd be a cakewalk for them to go up through these mountains," Glenn said.

Grossman agrees.

"If it's that easy for an unemployed Mexican to come in here, ISIS could come in here plum simple," he said.

Criminal Intelligence Network

It's a concern shared by many in this sector, including former Army intelligence analyst Dr. Scott Catino, who's currently a professor at Liberty University.

"We have major threats coming through this region and we're not taking it seriously," Catino said.  

Catino also says smugglers and drug runners have developed a powerful intelligence network that they use to thwart the Border Patrol.

"Our security and resolve is not requisite to meet that level of a threat," he added.

Catino also notes that this crossing, on the Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation, is one of the most sparsely populated on the Southwest border.

The reservation covers 4,000 square miles of Arizona desert and only about 10,000 people live along the border, on both sides, making it an easy place for smugglers and drug traffickers to come through.

Unemployment on the reservation sits at more than 25 percent, while the average annual income is only about $8,000. This makes smuggling an attractive proposition when cartel members offer up to $5,000 per load.  

Matt Thomas is a deputy in Pinal County, just north of the reservation.

"That is all open desert, and there's small villages throughout the reservation but no major towns, no major cities," Thomas said.  "Very minimal population, very minimal law enforcement, so they don't have a lot of interference to deal with from Mexico until they hit our county."

Rough Terrain to Cover

The terrain also makes tracking and catching the smugglers challenging.

"They've gotten more advanced and there's more numbers," Thomas said. "They set up their own networks now and they pretty much control the terrain and those networks that I'm talking about."

"They have good control of them visually, which means that if we go in by air or by land, they know that and so they can adjust. They can shut down operations and they can maneuver around us," he said.

Chochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels oversees a border county covering more land area than the state of Connecticut.

"Those that want to come into this country and harm us - terrorists - have the infrastructure to get through here in Cochise County," Dannels said.

He says the Obama administration's policies only make things worse.

"Anytime this administration talks about amnesty or anything that has to do with the border, we have an influx of people coming across," Dannels said. "We sit back all the time and just wonder, 'Why won't they do something to fix this problem?'"

"Our policy is one of controlled failure," Catino said. "Allowing a certain segment to get through, keeping it at a certain level. Something where the president can say, 'I doubled the manpower.' He doesn't tell you the rules of engagement are so restrictive that individuals within the Border Patrol are being persecuted, penalized, and marginalized for doing their job."

Who Can Save America?

Each person CBN News spoke with has high hopes for the next commander in chief.  

"I'm hoping that the president just takes a hard-line stance and says, 'Look, we are going to stop this massive migration of people through the Southwest border. We're going to start enforcing the laws we have on the books,'" Thomas said.

Glenn said a wall won't keep anybody out.

"I mean, they'll climb over it," he said. "If you build a wall, you've still got to watch it."

Grossmann said he's praying God will provide a leader who loves God and will surround himself with godly advisers.

"Because God is the only one who can save America," he concluded.