Arizona rancher says he packs heat just to walk around property amid migrant surge
Sasabe, Ariz., rancher Jim Chilton tells 'The Ingraham Angle' he hasn't seen Border Patrol in months; catalogued 3,050 images of illegal immigrants on 'The Ingraham Angle.'
An Arizona rancher whose property encompasses about 5 miles of the border between the Grand Canyon State and the Mexican state of Sonora told Fox News on Wednesday that he has recorded more than 3,000 images of suspected illegal immigrants and cartel smugglers trespassing through his property.
Jim Chilton, whose Sasabe-area ranch features an abutment of the taller, Trump-style border wall where it transitions to a split-rail fence, said that transition point is a hotspot for illegal ingress into the United States.
"My greatest fear is running into a group of cartel-led people coming through with guns, AK-47s," said Chilton, who added he routinely packs heat himself for his own protection when traveling around his property.
Over the past three years, Chilton said, he recorded 3,050 images of people in camouflage, carpet shoes and backpacks. Other folks have told him that about 20% of those photographed are drug mules coming to "poison our people."
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He told "The Ingraham Angle" that recent overtures by the Biden administration that might indicate a shift toward a more secure border policy are not reassuring, given the behavior of the executive branch thus far.
"No," he said. "There's so many people coming through [the border] that they are busy processing people. I haven't seen a Border Patrol agent on the ranch proper for over four months."
When asked if he reaches out to Border Patrol when he encounters migrants, he responded that the law enforcement agents have essentially been shifted away from enforcing federal law and arresting those who commit the misdemeanor of illegally crossing the border, and instead serve as taxpayer-funded chauffeurs.
"Essentially, the Border Patrol guys tell me they're nothing but taxi agents picking up people coming across the border and wanting to be apprehended, processed and released into the country," Chilton said.
Elaborating on the change in fencing that occurs along his property line — and the de facto international border — Chilton said the larger, metal wall was gradually being built during the Trump administration, but then construction was halted upon President Biden's inauguration.
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"[O]n Biden's first day in office, he stopped it, and they had half a mile to go on my ranch," he said, as host Laura Ingraham shared an image of the infrastructural disparity.
Appearing with Chilton and Ingraham, former Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Tom Homan told the rancher that as of January 2025, he will hopefully no longer have to worry about the lawlessness and danger that is taking over his property.
"I'll make a promise to Rancher Chilton: Hang on for January, ‘cause in January, we will secure that border, and we will run the largest deportation operation you’ve ever seen, and we'll give you some safe[ty] and comfort on your home property — guaranteed," he said.
Homan has reportedly indicated his intention to help in a potential second Trump administration and embark on a "historic" mass deportation program.
The former director, who was previously a law enforcement officer in his home state of New York, also has a framed copy of a Washington Post critique on his wall at home.
"Thomas Homan deports people," the article leads. "And he's really good at it."
Fox News Digital's Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
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