Dear Mr. Walker:

Thank you for your letter of April 29, 2002 regarding the activities of the U.S. Border Patrol on Vaquillas Cattle Company and Huisache Cattle Company land. I will begin by emphasizing that the Laredo Border Patrol Sector is committed to minimizing interference with local landowners by our operations. We do appreciate your concerns regarding your property and livestock. However, we must not be prevented from performing our statutory duties under the immigration laws. Due to the location of your land, illegal aliens and smugglers frequently traverse your property. Over the years we have repeated our commitment to you to minimize any disruption to your use of your property, but the Border Patrol cannot simply ignore the illegal activity.
While your letter lists a number of allegations against the Border Patrol the sketchy information you have provided makes it very difficult to address your concerns. Our Agents do not enter your property south and east of Laredo. Our Agents only patrol those areas of property that lie within 25 miles of the international border. This excludes the vast majority of your landholdings in the area. Unfortunately, large numbers of smugglers and illegal aliens transverse your property regardless of its location and are well known to have cut through fences, gates and created other damage. This is undoubtedly a major source of the damages of which you complain.
Hunting for arrowheads. You have not submitted any specific information where there is any indication that Border Patrol Agents have been hunting for arrowheads or any other item on your ranch. You have provided no evidence for such activities taking place from helicopters. We are not aware of any such activity and have no reason to believe such activity has occurred on your property. If you have any specific indication that Agents have removed private property from your land you should contact the Office of the Inspector General at l-800--869-4499 with your information. They will take appropriate action.
Helicopter Operations. The Laredo Sector has conducted very few helicopter operations over your property in the past few years. Most of these flights have been over highways and the areas adjacent to them. You have not identified the dates or the areas where you believe our aircraft have stampeded cattle. During hunting season our air operations make a particular effort to avoid disruption of deer hunters on ranches. We recognize the profitability of hunting leases in South Texas and try to reach a balance between accomplishing our mission and pleasing our neighbors. During hunting season we reduce our air operations on weekends (ranchers indicate that weekends are their busiest days) and respond to priority traffic on ranches so as to minimize disruption. Our pilots axe instructed to minimize intrusions by looking for sign along fence lines rather than cross-country tracking. If you have specific information or a complaint regarding a particular incident or flight, you are invited to contact Sector Headquarters at (956) 764-3200 with your concerns.
Unidentified, un-marked vehicles. The Laredo Sector does not operate unmarked vehicles on your property. There is no indication in the photographs that you submitted that any of the marks were made by government vehicles. Any Border Patrol vehicles that may enter property are clearly marked with Border Patrol striping and logos. All of our marked vehicles have green identifying numbers on both sides of the vehicle. If you believe that a Border Patrol vehicle has caused damage to your property, you should note the time, date, and vehicle number and contact the Sector Headquarters at (956) 764-3200 with your concerns.
Travel during wet conditions. It is likely that some travel by Border Patrol has occurred during wet conditions, but this is very rare. Your ranch also receives vehicle traffic from oil field workers, ranch hands, hunters, your family and their friends. Border Patrol traffic is only a minor contributor to the overall traffic. We have instructed our Agents to keep vehicle traffic out of ranches during wet conditions, unless an emergency exists or the landowner or another law enforcement agency has requested our presence.
Disturbing hunters. We do not believe that our Agents have seriously disturbed hunters on your ranch. During hunting season we instruct our Agents to stay out of the ranches from daybreak to 10:00 a.m. and then leave by 3:00 p.m. Our Agents also try to limit their patrolling and tracking to ranch perimeters, and only enter ranches if the presence of aliens and/or smugglers is suspected or confirmed. However, on occasion, agents have encountered hunters while responding to alien/narcotic traffic during peak hunting hours. These are isolated incidents that cannot be avoided. When our Agents on patrol encounter unknown persons they will likely inquire as to their immigration status. Due to the amount of smuggling and alien traffic in the area it is only reasonable and prudent for our Agents to make such inquiries. Most hunters and landowners understand our mission and realize that the Border Patrol makes a concerted effort to minimize any disruption or inconvenience that may be caused during the performance of our duties. They also realize that the Border Patrol helps provide a more secure environment for hunters and other outdoor activities.
Leaving ranch gates open/closed. Laredo Sector Agents are specifically instructed to leave all ranch gates in the same position as they are found in. If the gate is found open, our Agents leave it open. We also secure any gate that our Agents may open. You have not identified a single incidence where Border Patrol Agents have left a gate unsecured when they found it closed. If you become aware of a situation where you believe the Border Patrol has opened a previously unopened gate and left it unsecure, you are invited to call the Sector Headquarters with the time, date, location, and any other relevant information so that we may determine if any of our Agents are involved.
Cutting fences. We are aware of only one incident involving Border Patrol Agents cutting a fence on your property. This particular incident is under investigation and we will take appropriate action if the results of the investigation justify such action. We have no knowledge of any other fences or gates being cut or removed by our Agents on your property. Our Agents will gain entry into areas within 25 miles of the border when there is an emergency or if they are otherwise barred from patrolling. These occasions are very rare and have not occurred on your property outside of the incident currently under investigation.
I have provided this letter in our continuing effort to work with you and address your concerns. We believe we have made every reasonable effort to minimize intrusion onto your property while continuing our statutory duties to enforce the immigration laws. As we have explained to you on past occasions, it is our goal to avoid confrontations if possible, but it must be understood that the Border Patrol will exercise its statutory authority to enter onto private property to perform our mission.
If you have any questions or wish to discuss this further, please contact Assistant Chief Patrol Agent Lee Bargerhuff at (956) 764-3200.

Sincerely,
John W. Montoya
Chief Patrol Agent