Border problems involving illegal immigrants stratches far beyond Douglas and the surrounding communities and ranches.

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Often those problems extend far past the border and affect real people, not just agencies.

The people of Paraidse, Arizona, located on the eastside of the Chiricahua Mountains, are impacted daily by human-caused fires, trash and violence.

Lynne May, who lives in Whitetail Canyon north of Paradise, says she’s ridden mules in the rugged mountains for 20 years.

“It used to be pristine. Now there isn’t an area (in the vicinity) that hasn’t been impacted with junk, litter, campfires,” she says. “One huge camp on the north side of the mountains that I cleaned up had 20 to 25 backpacks, but the Border Patrol told me that backpacks don’t have drugs in them and to look out for burlap.

“In Jhus Canyon, I’ve found burlap along with sharp cans that can cut deer, mountain lions or bear. Also, little zip-carriers like those that hold GPS units, so I guess if they are running drugs they can keep in touch with whomever and tell them where they are. Horseshoe and Price canyons are really impacted.

“My mother’s 94, and she used to live on her own in Portal with no car,” May says. “But with the number of break-ins, we moved her in with us. This has really impacted her life, and it’s sad.

“We don’t fear migrants, and we have dogs. That helps. Knock on wood, I’ve never seen a single illegal (immigrant), and I guess you just don’t know if they are poor people looking for work or worse. I carry a gun and I’d use it, but if you run into somebody with an AR-15, you can kiss your life goodbye. I don’t care if they hurt me, but I don’t want them to hurt my mules.

“When we lived outside Tucson, we just left the house open; we didn’t care about migrants. But it got so they were smoking inside our house. So my husband welded window and door protection, and they beat in the side of the house in frustration.

“The drug lords are beyond evil,” May says. They’re psychopathic �” cutting off heads (in Mexico). I feel very sad that because of them, these mountains aren’t our country any more. We have friends in Rucker Canyon, the other side of the Krentzes’. They killed her dogs, killed cattle, cut fences, let 5,000 gallons of water out of their tank. That is just meanness.

“My feeling is that if we had a decent guest-worker program in place, it would have gone a long way to take care of the immigrant issue. But I don’t think that would affect the drug cartels. I wouldn’t want to legalize any drug trading because I’ve seen such serious drug problems within my own family. But everybody should be allowed to grow their own pot; that might help reduce the drug trade some.

“I feel selfish saying I want my life back; you know Susan Hayward said that in the ’50s and got in trouble. I want to go back to an innocent time.”

Bradford notes: “Drug dealers didn’t come through the mountains until recently; they stayed in the foothills and around Cave Creek. I think it’s ridiculous that pot and most drugs are illegal, since the Bible tells us to use all seed-bearing plants. The illegal trade is a threat, but the real drug threat is overdosing and overprescribing prescription drugs, especially to the elderly, who get totally confused.

“We need border stations every 15 to 20 miles along the border, and the Border Patrol should be patrolling far enough back from the line to catch all the drug tunnels.”

In nearby Portal, Jeff Gee cares for Galapagos turtles and is the archivist of Chiricahua crime by illegal immigrants. He surveys residents by e-mail on specifics of break-ins, pushes for the presence of more sheriff’s deputies and Border Patrol agents, hosts community meetings and photographs litter and break-in locations.

He has produced reports on break-ins in the Portal and Paradise area. One notes, “The nearest (box stores) are about 100 miles away, and certain kitchen items and clothing are available only at twice that distance. Even when losses are small, they can be inconvenient if replacements cannot be acquired for months. Still worse, burglaries leave us with feelings of vulnerability and being ‘under siege’ all the time. Couples plan their activities so that one or the other person can always be home, and singles fear to leave home at all �” even to buy groceries or pick up mail.”

“The border is still wide open,” says Gee. “The drug cartels must be laughing at us.”

He and other locals are pushing for a cell tower to be installed near Portal and a permanent Border Patrol substation in the old Portal Forest Service Ranger Station with a phone for local calls.

Gee says he is “100 percent against legalizing any drugs.” However, he is willing to make an exception for pot, as long as any person testing positive for drugs is denied all government-supported services, such as free education, and health, including emergency medical care.

‘I’m real cynical’

Jackie Lewis, another Paradise resident, also feels the strain. “Border Patrol hands are tied, and they can’t do their job by freely arresting suspects or protecting themselves. We don’t really have hot pursuit in the Chiricahuas.

“The fence doesn’t work, agents are too far away from the border, and we can’t protect our borders while fighting to protect the borders of other countries,” Lewis says.

“Pot? Legalize it and tax it like alcohol, and the taxes will provide the base for needed services instead of giving the money to the cartels hauling bales through here.

“If we can get people processed at a border station who want to work, and get them a green card and a Social Security card, they can earn the benefits of work,” Lewis says. “We also need workers to come across on a seasonal permit. But the ones who want to come up for the free ride need to be turned back, and the processing needs to be done at the border.

“I’m real cynical right now; we have people coming across the border getting more aid than my brother-in-law did from the Border Patrol when he was fired on by an illegal (immigrant) attacking him.

“We need seasoned vets on horseback to counter those with night-vision goggles and radios. Illegal (immigrants) have been crossing through Horseshoe Canyon during the fire.

“Who have I sighted in Paradise? The two I’ve seen in the last year and one prior to that as an EMT have been coming up to find a job. Dehydrated and footsore, they stopped and asked for help. They were treated and sent to a holding area to go back home. Two others in nearby Jhus Canyon were stopped by accident; the search and rescue personnel reported an illegal (immigrant) close to being dead. They weren’t carrying anything, and one had three suckers left and offered the two of us his suckers. It was really sad. I haven’t run into any drugs or guns yet.”

Most eastern Chiricahua residents interviewed said regulating pot would reduce the illegal market and halt a large percentage of the cross-border drug trade and the evil killers who sell it. Most believe it should be legalized.

Everyone interviewed wants a migrant worker program and a way for people in the country to apply to be here legally. Some believe there should be a path to citizenship; some don’t.

But they all said border problems should remain at the border and that as long as there is violent drug trafficking, the border should be armed and fortified.

Most said the military and Border Patrol should shoot to kill armed invaders. But they want horseback Border Patrol agents with experience and knowledge of wild places, and they should be paid commensurately with the risk to patrol the isolated places where the drug runners go.

Arizona is a state within a country that is at times, racist, and at times, tolerant; both versions of Arizona often seek stilted solutions to “solve” border-related problems.

The situation in Paradise is frightening, but it’s not the worst. Nonetheless, fear leads to strong reactions.

Over breakfast in Silver City, N.M., longtime border activist Tom Barry said something that resonated: “I spent many years with the philosophy that immigrants who come here are hard-working people who came to contribute to our economy, and they are the soul of struggling people everywhere. I think now that it is better when envisioning solutions to see immigrants as just like the rest of us: good, bad and everywhere in between.”

Dick Kamp is an award-winning journalist who lives in Santa Fe and has reported on the environment, water and border issues since 1983.