Staff Reports
Our farmers and ranchers along the southern border have endured years of lawlessness while Washington looked the other way, and that nightmare is finally ending. President Trump put a team in charge that understands how to secure a nation, and Kristi Noem — now confirmed as Secretary of Homeland Security — brought a farmer’s resolve to the job from day one.
Cartels don’t care about livelihoods; they care about control, and that control translated into bombs, ambushes, and terror for border landowners under previous administrations. Texas officials have openly warned about cartel violence that targeted ranches and farm workers, leaving families afraid to work their land without federal protection.
That federal protection is being delivered on the ground. Under Secretary Noem’s leadership, DHS has rolled out real, modern barriers and technology — from fiber‑optic “smart” buoys in the Rio Grande to stepped‑up joint operations with state troopers — to deny cartels the easy, lawless routes they once exploited. Local law enforcement has been arresting violent criminals hiding on remote ranches, a direct sign that the strategy is working.
The results are unmistakable to anyone who lives where the border is not a talking point but a daily reality: enforcement, not excuses. Federal agents are back in rural areas doing the hard work of protecting property and people, and DHS is no longer treating the border like a suggestion box for smugglers. That turnaround is what gives farmers the breathing room to get back to producing food instead of worrying about cartel incursions.
Make no mistake — this did not happen by accident. It was the predictable outcome of prioritizing law and order, listening to ranchers, and using American strength and innovation to shut down smuggling corridors. Secretary Noem’s background as a rancher and her stated commitment to protecting rural America mean this office understands the stakes and is acting on them.
Patriots who work the land deserve leaders who will defend them, not lecture them. The Trump‑Noem approach has restored safety and dignity to border communities; now Congress and citizens must keep pressure on the bureaucracy and keep funding the tools that actually work. Our farmers feed America — and we will not cower while cartels try to decide who gets to live and work in this country.
