Texas Rancher Sues Biden, DHS Over Damage to Property Allegedly Caused by Illegal Immigrants

President Joe Biden walks along the U.S.–Mexico border fence in El Paso, Texas, on Jan. 8, 2023. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

A Texas rancher has filed a lawsuit against President Joe Biden and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) accusing them of adopting policies that have resulted in “the biggest influx of illegal aliens into America in our history.”

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas on July 31 by the Immigration Reform Law Institute on behalf of the rancher, identified in the filing as Michael Vickers, along with Kinney County Sheriff Brad Coe and Atascosa County, Texas.

It also lists DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Acting Commissioner Troy Miller, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Patrick J. Lechleitner, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Ur M. Jaddou as defendants.

“With full awareness of the likely consequences, Defendants have adopted unlawful policies that, working in concert, have frustrated Congress’s purposes in the immigration laws,” the lawsuit states.

According to the legal filing, Vickers—who is also a veterinarian—lives with his wife on a 1000-acre ranch in Brooks County, Texas.

The ranch is located approximately 70 miles north of the international border with Mexico, according to the lawsuit.

“Because of Defendants’ policies, tens of thousands of illegal aliens have been released into the interior who thereafter travel cross country across the grasslands of Plaintiff’s ranch,” the filing states.

Ranch Suffered ‘Thousands of Dollars in Damage’

In so doing, the illegal immigrants “routinely cause thousands of dollars in damage to fences or gates as they pass through the ranch,” and leave “tons of trash and litter,” the lawsuit states.

In some cases, Vickers has found plastic bags and trash inside the stomachs of his cows, according to the lawsuit.

At other times, his cattle have escaped through cut fences and gates torn down by illegal immigrants, it alleges.

As a result, since early 2021, Vickers has incurred “more than $50,000 in fence and gate damages alone” and has been forced to spend thousands of dollars to mitigate environmental damage, according to the lawsuit.

The legal filing also notes that Vickers and his wife have to keep dogs on their ranch for security.

The dogs have caught “hundreds of criminal trespasses,” many of whom are members of various gangs including the notoriously violent MS13, Tangoblast, Pistoleros, and the Mexican Mafia, among others, the lawsuit states.

Due to the presence of criminal groups facilitating illegal immigration, Vickers must always carry a pistol to feel safe, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit argues that the defendants’ actions amount to a violation of the take care clause of the U.S. Constitution that is “conceptually clear, historically unique, and actionable by those it especially harms,” the lawsuit states.

The take care clause requires the president to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.”

The U.S. flag flies at half-staff at a port of entry at the U.S.–Mexico border in Brownsville, Texas, on Feb. 24, 2021. (John Moore/Getty Images)

Illegal Border Crossings Decline

“Congress has passed numerous laws aimed at achieving operational control of the border, defined as zero illegal entries. But Defendants’ policies, issued under the authority of these laws, are calculated to result in, and have resulted in, the current, massive flood of illegal entries by foreign nationals from around the world,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit asks the court to declare the federal government’s various border policies unconstitutional, including parole programs for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans; family reunification parole processes; and the memorandum terminating Migrant Protection Protocols, also referred to as the “Remain in Mexico” program.

The plaintiffs are also seeking unspecified costs and attorney’s fees.

Since taking office, Biden has sought to expand lawful pathways into the United States as part of efforts to slash illegal crossings while trying to address the root cause of what he says is a “broken” immigration system.

In June, his administration enacted restrictions on asylum claims at the southern border, which led to a drop in illegal border crossings.

In a July 31 statement, the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) said the government’s policies have resulted in the “biggest influx of illegal aliens into America in our history.”

“This is no mere policy failure, or just a violation of statutes, but flagrant disobedience to the Constitution,” Dale L. Wilcox, executive director and general counsel of IRLI, said. “We hope the court sees Biden’s war on the laws he is supposed to be enforcing as the constitutional offense it is, ends these policies, and grants an injunction.”

The Epoch Times contacted the White House for comment but didn’t receive a reply by publication time.