When the Gang of Eight amnesty Senators outlined a framework for their anti-sovereignty scheme, a basic piece was the commission that would decide when the Mexican border was secure. That board would consist of governors, community members, and attorneys general living on the Southwest border.

An inquiring mind might ask whether those community members would include ranchers, who are the ground-zero frontline experts of illegal border crossers. A report from last fall quoted Texas rancher Dr. Mike Vickers as saying, “The border is not secure; it’s dangerous. We’re in a war zone here. Washington is just a mass of deception. There’s absolutely no truth to what they’re saying.”

A more recent observer is Nogales, Arizona, rancher Dan Bell, whose border-front property is assaulted daily by drug smugglers and illegal aliens. A couple broken strings of barb-wire supplied by Washington doesn’t keep out the invaders, interestingly enough.

Rancher: Mexican border isn’t secure, CNN, January 29, 2013

Dan Bell owns a cattle ranch in Nogales, Arizona, that sits right on the border with Mexico. He’s been on the property his whole life and has seen firsthand the violence and tragedy that stem from issues with illegal immigration.

“I don’t believe there’s a day that goes by – either illegal immigrants or somebody smuggling contraband drugs,” Bell told CNN’s Gary Tuchman. “There’s always somebody coming across.”

A tall fence lines some of Bells’ land, but mostly the only thing dividing the two countries is a rickety barbed wire fence that can easily be climbed; he makes repairs to it himself.

It would be difficult to build the tall, protective fence along the entire border because of the mountainous topography.

When asked if he considers the border secure, Bells says it’s not. “We do need to focus on making sure that we have boots on the ground, that we have the technology available to us, that we have infrastructure to actually get to the border and patrol it.”