American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall recently toured farms along the southern border of the United States. Duvall says state Farm Bureau organizations near the border reached out to ask for help dealing with safety concerns regarding a rise in the number of people crossing the border from Mexico into the U.S.
Duvall says Farm Bureau’s first step was to reach out to the White House. “We put together a letter to send to President Biden about our concerns. In a very brief time period, all 50 states and Puerto Rico signed on to that letter and we sent it to the President, which generated a phone call between the four border State Farm Bureau presidents and representatives from the White House.”
Duvall admits that while getting a firsthand look at the situation was necessary, he didn’t like what he saw. “We’ve seen how serious the situation is for our farmers. It is heartbreaking to see and hear some of the stories that I’ve heard this week. You know, they’ve experienced people coming across our border for decades but never at the level that we’re seeing it today,” he said. “Our farmers and ranchers are worried about their safety and their family’s safety and their employees’ safety.”
Not only did farmers express safety concerns to Duvall, but also their concerns about damages happening to their farmland. “Some of them had their homes looted, they’ve seen their fences torn down numerous times, with great expense to them. They’ve seen water sources tampered with and compromised during this time,” he explained.
Farmers have even found dead bodies on their property from those who didn’t make it through the journey across the border. “We’ve heard discussions about farmers and ranchers finding people that have not made the trip and passed away, and it’s really been heartbreaking to see and experience what I have the last two days,” Duvall said.
The main message he wants Washington D.C. to hear is that there are serious problems because of the mass number of people crossing the border. He said border officials are getting overwhelmed and the bottoms line is that the border needs to be secured. He said it’s time to enforce the laws that we have in our country and abide by them.
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