California Residents Take Border Security Into Their Own Hands

A group of military veterans based in southern California has been repairing damage to walls and fencing along the state's border with Mexico in a bid to discourage illegal immigration.

The work has been organized by Border Vets, with the group sharing images and video on social media showing its members using razor wire to block gaps that have emerged in border defenses.

Illegal immigration over the southern border has become a heated political issue, with a recent Monmouth University poll finding that 84 percent of Americans think it is either a "very serious" or "serious" issue. Former President Donald Trump, the clear favorite for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has made the issue one of the centerpieces of his campaign for a second White House term.

Border Vets has primarily been operating in the mountainous area around Jacumba Hot Springs that has become a major migrant crossing point in recent months.

Speaking to Border Report, a website that covers illegal immigration across the U.S.-Mexico border, retired Marine and Border Vet member Kate Monroe said: "It's really serious for everybody here that we protect our nation.

"The holes we can find [in the wall]—we're going to go ahead and get the razor wire and do our best to defend our country. Whoever it is you're waiting to do this for you, they're not coming. It's going to be people like us, people like America's veterans."

According to Customs and Border Protection (CBP), only official employees or contractors are allowed to work on border defenses. However, Monroe insisted: "That's not going to stop us or deter us from coming here. If we can stop them [illegal migrants] for one day, one hour, one week, we've stopped more people from coming into our country."

Monroe also claimed that border patrol agents they'd encountered during their activities hadn't raised any objections. Newsweek reached out to CBP by email at about 8 a.m. ET Wednesday.

She also claimed that many of the migrants aren't coming from Mexico directly but rather are "flying here from God knows where" and raised particular concern about the number of "military age" men making the crossing.

In addition to her work with Border Vets, Monroe is running to be the Republican candidate for California's 49th Congressional District, which is occupied by Democratic Representative Mike Levin. Newsweek has reached out to her campaign for comment by email.

Describing her activities on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday, Monroe said: "A week ago I brought razor wire to secure the tiny gap in the border. A few days ago I brought 11 veterans and more razor wire to secure a bigger gap in the border.

"On Thursday, I will have a massive team and supply of razor wire to secure the border. I'm not even in congress yet, but I have taken more action on this issue over the past week than the president has in the past 3 years."

Brett Christenson is another Border Vets activist who shared a photograph of the group on Instagram and commented: "Border Vets was born out of need and out of an obligation to an oath that we took to defend our nation from all enemies foreign and domestic.

"The Biden administration wants to see our country burn and we're here to tell them we are done and we will take matters into our own hands."

This month, a bipartisan Senate bill intended to strengthen border security and provide foreign aid to a number of American allies, including Ukraine, was opposed by Republican hardliners, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, who argued it didn't go far enough in tackling illegal migration.

CBP recorded 176,205 illegal border crossings into the United States in January, down 42 percent from December, when 301,983 were logged. It was the biggest month-to-month fall since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021.