Mass Immigration Harms Rare Animals, Livestock and even Family Pets
America is a nation of animal lovers, but our broken immigration system is threatening the survival of some of the world’s rarest animals. This is caused at least in part by illegal migrants damaging animal habitats on their way to the U.S. Furthermore, migrant smuggling cartels kill rare animals to sell to traditional Chinese “medicine” (TCM) buyers. Migrant intrusions in border communities have led to the deaths of livestock and family dogs. Finally, as migrants contribute to the unsustainable and unnatural expansion of metro areas, the habitat of rare animals is encroached upon, dangerously threatening their survival.
One of the most serious threats to animals is wildlife crime. The growing relationship between China and Mexican cartels drives much of this. Overworked U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials are spread thin combatting unprecedented migrant waves, diverting their resources and personnel from tackling wildlife crime, another part of their remit. TCM, a pseudoscience, prizes body parts from exotic animals for its “remedies”. With profits booming from people smuggling thanks to the open borders, cartels have been able to branch out into wildlife crime, encouraging poaching and selling body parts of rare animals to their Chinese clients. This has included sea turtle shells, crocodile skins and the heads of jaguars. The people smugglers are happy to use mass migration to distract CBP, smuggle rare animal parts across borders, and make money from both activities.
Another threat is the way migrants damage the habitats of rare animals, threatening their survival. The Darien Gap in Panama is home to endangered species such as the brown-headed spider monkey, giant anteater and jaguars. Prior to 2021, the Darien Gap was isolated and saw few humans pass through, and this allowed those animals some breathing space. But as news of America’s open borders spread, the number of migrants crossing the gap has soared. Just 6,000 people passed through the Darien Gap in 2020, but by 2023, this had reached over half a million. As they pass through, migrants casually throw away litter, much of it very environmentally damaging. Migrants hurl clothing into the rivers, clogging streams and making the once crystal clear water unsafe to drink. The destruction of this delicate and previously isolated ecosystem will spell catastrophe for the region’s rare animals.
It is not just rare wild animals that suffer, as livestock and even family pets are being hurt too. In Texas border communities, migrants have reportedly killed pet dogs to prevent them from alerting families during burglaries. Ranchers and farmers in border communities have also seen damage to their livestock, such as at Eagle Pass, Texas, where one farmer has seen his cows die after ingesting trash dumped on his land by migrants. Other farmers have seen their fences destroyed by migrants cutting their way through, raising the risk of cattle escaping and being lost, or of predators like coyotes being able to get in. One farmer told FAIR he has spent over $400,000 on repairing fences repeatedly vandalized by illegal aliens.
Long term, mass migration drives unnatural and unsustainable population growth. By 2050, the US could have a population as high as 375 million, and these people will drive demand for more housing, more road building and more pressure on energy and water resources. America’s wildlife is already feeling the impact. In 2021, 23 different American species of animals were declared extinct including what was once America’s largest woodpecker and its rarest songbird. The U.S. lists over 1,300 species as endangered, some of which are only found in the U.S. and certain species have been reduced to just a few hundred living animals. If we do not stop mass immigration, more rare animals, livestock and even family pets will continue to suffer.