{"id":1961602,"date":"2023-06-30T15:14:02","date_gmt":"2023-06-30T19:14:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/private-citizens-patrolling-the-banks-of-the-rio-grande-to-stop-illegal-immigration\/"},"modified":"2023-06-30T15:17:05","modified_gmt":"2023-06-30T19:17:05","slug":"private-citizens-patrolling-the-banks-of-the-rio-grande-to-stop-illegal-immigration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/private-citizens-patrolling-the-banks-of-the-rio-grande-to-stop-illegal-immigration\/","title":{"rendered":"Citizens patrol Rio Grande banks to halt illegal immigration."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fprivate-citizens-patrolling-the-banks-of-the-rio-grande-to-stop-illegal-immigration%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1961602&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Wyatt Watson: A Retirement Unlike Any Other<\/h2>\n<p>Wyatt Watson\u2019s stories might be unbelievable if it weren\u2019t for the bullet mark on his windshield. The Texas native\u2019s conscience just wouldn\u2019t let him have a relaxing retirement.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of donning a Hawaiian shirt and flip-flops at a coastal resort, the 66-year-old opted for a bulletproof vest and a pair boots, much more appropriate attire for his nightly patrols on the banks of the Rio Grande, where he intercepts and repels illegal immigrants.<\/p>\n<h3>A Life That Matters<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cMy time is running out,\u201d Watson admitted to The Daily Wire. \u201cI\u2019m 66 years old \u2026 my window\u2019s closing fast.\u201d He added, \u201cI want to feel like my life mattered.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s not a member of the Border Patrol, but that doesn\u2019t stop him and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texasborderbees.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">up to 50 volunteers<\/a> from patrolling the border. He and those who volunteer alongside him have worked in conjunction with authorities, taking time to learn from their strategies. Watson noted that members of law enforcement have repeatedly thanked them for their work.<\/p>\n<p>Their operation has largely been successful. Watson told The Daily Wire that he and his volunteers have turned back roughly 5,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-cuts-off-emergency-military-funding-for-border-wall-calls-trumps-declaration-unwarranted\/\" title=\"Biden cuts off emergency military funding for border wall, calls Trump\u2019s declaration \u2018unwarranted\u2019\">000 illegal immigrants<\/a> and detained 598, who were handed over to Border Patrol.<\/p>\n<h3>A Dangerous Battle<\/h3>\n<p>But defending the southern border is an easy way to make dangerous enemies, especially when it gets in the way of the cartels\u2019 preferred ways of making money \u2014 smuggling drugs and people.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI guess I pissed someone off,\u201d Watson quipped as he leaned up against his truck, the windshield of which was scarred by what appeared to be a bullet mark. He explained that his truck windshield was struck by a bullet in April as he was driving down the highway. A member of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/suspect-in-nypd-machete-attack-charged-with-attempted-murder-officials-reveal-more-on-alleged-radical-islamic-views\/\" title=\"NYPD Machete Attack Suspect Charged with Attempted Murder. Officials Share More About Radical Islamic Views\">law enforcement confirmed<\/a> that the mark marring his windshield was left by a bullet, telling Watson that it was likely a pistol caliber, potentially a 9mm.<\/p>\n<p>But Watson got lucky. The round hit the thickest part of the windshield and ricocheted off. A few inches higher and the incident might\u2019ve been fatal.<\/p>\n<p>Not long after, while on a piece of property used by Watson\u2019s group, a dog was \u201cassassinated.\u201d Just minutes before, the dog was playing with its owners. It was found tied to the front porch with a gunshot wound in the head. Watson says it was \u201cmeant to send a message,\u201d as if the shot that ricocheted off his windshield hadn\u2019t already.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A Matter of Life and Death<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It all led to a greater sense of gravity around the crisis. The struggle for control of the border isn\u2019t just a matter of policy and punditry for Watson, but a matter of life and death.<\/p>\n<p>Nonetheless, he continues to patrol the border, and with great effect. \u201cWe had 185 [people] try [to] come through here one night,\u201d Watson told The Daily Wire as he walked along the fencing that Governor Greg Abbott had built, mere feet away from the river bank.<\/p>\n<p>Evidence of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/private-citizens-patrolling-the-banks-of-the-rio-grande-to-stop-illegal-immigration\/\" title=\"Citizens patrol Rio Grande banks to halt illegal immigration.\">illegal border crossings littered dense patches<\/a> of tall carrizo cane, a fast-growing, invasive plant that lines much of the Rio Grande. It didn\u2019t take long before Watson pointed out wet clothes, backpacks, and still-shiny pesos scattered in the brush.<\/p>\n<p>Illegal immigrants often wade across the river with backpacks full of dry clothes. Once they make it to shore, they change into dry clothes, stuff their wet clothes into their backpacks, and hide them in hopes that authorities don\u2019t notice the debris.<\/p>\n<p>While Watson and the volunteers have greatly diminished the amount of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-military-expanding-migrant-turnback-operations-along-rio-grande\/\" title=\"Texas Military Expanding Migrant Turnback Operations Along Rio Grande\">successful border crossings<\/a> in the area, their task has been made more difficult by the ubiquity of the cartels. \u201cThere\u2019s cartel presence everywhere. There\u2019s people who are paid by the cartel, there are landowners who are paid to let people across their property,\u201d Watson explained. \u201cBut what they got to understand is, they\u2019re not crossing this river anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As Watson walked along the fenceline back towards the property, a piece of brass shimmered in the Texas sun. An unspent .22 pistol round lay in the dirt at our feet. \u201cWell \u2026 it ain\u2019t one of ours,\u201d Watson warned, holding up the cartridge in his hand. He and his men don\u2019t carry .22, but the cartel does.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnce you start seeing .22, you get nervous.\u201d Watson explained that the small, quiet round is one of the cartel\u2019s preferred methods of assassination.<\/p>\n<p>Little moments like this, paired with those more frightening run-ins, remind Watson just how dangerous \u2014 and vital \u2014 of a task he has undertaken.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHonestly, I\u2019ve asked God to release me from this several times,\u201d Watson confessed. But that doesn\u2019t mean that he regrets his choice to patrol the border \u2014 quite the opposite.<\/p>\n<p>Though the dangers have only become more pronounced since he started, Watson made it clear that he knew what he was getting into. \u201cI made up my mind the first day I came out here that I might not come back from here,\u201d Watson admitted with solemn resolve.<\/p>\n<p>Watson\u2019s stories of sacrifice and daring were underscored by the sense of a second tragedy that he, as well as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/weve-been-abandoned-border-ranchers-recount-chaos-on-southern-border\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">others<\/a> living <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/mommy-theres-bad-guys-at-my-window-border-patrol-wife-describes-dangers-chaos-on-southern-border\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">on the border,<\/a> had alluded to: the human smuggling could be halted, the drug peddling could be stopped, and America \u2014 not the cartels \u2014 could control its own border, if only the most powerful members of our political system so desired. But in the meantime, it is up to bold, uncompromising men of action, Wyatt Watson chief among them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wyatt Watson&#8217;s tales seem incredible, but a bullet scar on his windshield proves their authenticity. Rather than embracing a leisurely retirement in a Hawaiian shirt and flip-flops, this Texan chose a bulletproof vest and sturdy boots. At 66, he believed it was a more fitting attire for his conscience-driven endeavors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":503,"featured_media":1961603,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1961602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-daily-wire"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1961602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/503"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1961602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1961602\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1961603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1961602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1961602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1961602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}