COCHISE COUNTY, AZ — Arizona rancher John Ladd is fed up with the feds — and fears Kamala Harris will “be worse than Biden” on the border crisis if she’s elected.
As the federal government once again opens the floodgates in the Cochise County border wall for the three-month monsoon season, Ladd says his 16,000-acre cattle ranch is ground zero for the Mexican cartels and their smuggling operations.
He expressed his frustrations to Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance — who toured the border area Thursday — just down the road from the open floodgates.
As the feds once again open the floodgates in the Cochise County border wall for monsoon season, Arizona rancher John Ladd says his 16,000-acre cattle ranch is ground zero for Mexican cartels and their smuggling operations. Go Nakamura for New York Post“They’re drawing people to a certain area. It’s deliberate, there’s no other way to look at it,” said Ladd as he drove his truck through rough terrain on his ranch situated on the border.
“It’s silly. There’s certainly a better idea than this. If you gotta do it, shut them, you open them up for a flood and then shut them. Or have an agent here, but they can’t — they don’t have enough manpower to do that.”
The floodgate openings are filled with massive amounts of natural debris from the floods and personal belongings left behind by those who snuck through illegally and disappeared into the nearby brush.
One year ago, The Post exposed the massive loophole in Arizona’s border that was allowing thousands of migrants to pour through each day.
Literal floodgates are open at the border. New York Post
He expressed his frustrations to Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance — who toured the border area Thursday — just down the road from the open floodgates. Go Nakamura for New York PostAt the time, US officials had welded 114 massive gates open to allow for the free flow of floodwater during the monsoon season and for the migration of endangered antelope.
“It’s frustrating beyond belief that the floodgates on the line are open. It’s an open door right into the US,” one border patrol source seethed.
“What’s the point of a wall if they are just gonna have holes in it a few months of the year? They say it’s for monsoon season we gotta leave ’em open — even if it’s not raining anywhere near us,” they continued.
“They’re drawing people to a certain area. It’s deliberate, there’s no other way to look at it,” said Ladd as he drove his truck through rough terrain on his ranch situated on the border. Go Nakamura for New York Post“We get yelled at if we close the gates. It’s an open invitation to smugglers. I’ve seen trucks drive through the open gates. I’ve seen 50-plus bodies rush us. It’s a free-for-all.”
When speaking with Vance Thursday, Ladd said he emphasized that his area of the border sees more criminal activity than others.
“The biggest thing was is we don’t have asylum seekers. The people we got don’t want to give up. And then we’ve got the load vehicles that pick them up and take them wherever they’re gonna go,” he said.
Many people take advantage of the open floodgates to cross the border into the U.S. New York Post
John Ladd walks along the border wall in Hereford, Arizona on August 1, 2024. Go Nakamura for New York Post
John Ladd opens a gate to his ranch which is located at the U.S.-Mexico border in Hereford, Arizona on August 1, 2024. Go Nakamura for New York Post“The majority of them are military-aged men. They’re from all over,” he said, adding that his property has seen 27 different nationalities under the Biden administration.
Ladd said he was “impressed” because Vance sought his advice on how to fix the border crisis.
“Nobody from the Biden administration has been here,” Ladd said.
John Ladd, owner of Ladd’s San Jose Ranch, stands in front of an opened flood gate on the border wall in Arizona on August 1, 2024. Go Nakamura for NY PostDuring his trip to an area of the border seen as a smuggler’s paradise, Vance focused his attacks on Vice President and ‘border czar’ Kamala Harris.
“It’s unbelievable what we’re letting happen at the southern border, and it’s because Kamala Harris refuses to do her job,” Vance said.
Ladd agreed.
U.S. Sen. JD Vance talks with Sheriff Robert Watkins of Cochise County, President of the National Border Patrol Council Paul A. Perez and rancher John Ladd while touring the U.S. Border Wall on August 01, 2024 in Arizona. Getty Images“She’s not capable of running this country, and if she does it’ll be worse than Biden.”
More than a quarter of all the migrants who crossed the southern border illegally and were apprehended in June came through the sector, according to federal data that doesn’t account for those who sneak through.
Cartels have been shifting their smuggling operations westward as Texas seals off large portions of its border with Mexico.
Republican vice presidential nominee U.S. Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) delivers remarks alongside rancher John Ladd (R) and President of the National Border Patrol Council Paul A. Perez as Vance tours the US Border Wall. Getty ImagesFederal border authorities in the area earlier this week also made a record fentanyl seizure of 4 million illicit pills.
