CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Some West Virginia National Guard members who returned from the southern border this week say they were shocked to encounter more than 10,000 illegal immigrants during their month-long mission in Texas.
“They were just asking for us to cut the wire, which we weren’t. We were telling them to go back into Mexico,” Cpt. Zachary Pingley said as he described his experience to reporters at the Guard’s headquarters in Charleston Thursday.
“They would bull-rush through and use their children as a bargaining chip to get them cut up; therefore, we had to act and cut the wire because it was a life-saving measure at that point,” he said.
Pingley oversaw West Virginia’s 30-day mission in August where more than 50 troops volunteered to assist Border Patrol and the Texas National Guard with Operation Lone Star. The guard was stationed in Eagle Pass, Tx., which is about two hours from El Paso.
While 99 percent of migrants were compliant, Pingley said others “came across as entitled.”
“They had some nicer cellphones than some of our own soldiers had. They were just trying to get a ride to get free education, free housing, free food in places like New York City or Chicago. They were specifically asking to be taken there,” Pingley said.
.@WVGovernor applauds @WVNationalGuard members during a welcome home event from the southern border this morning in Charleston. More than 50 volunteers encountered nearly 10,000 illegal immigrants during the month-long mission in August. @WVMetroNews pic.twitter.com/BJ1IoammaV
— Carrie Hodousek (@CarrieHodousek) September 7, 2023
State Adjutant General Maj. Bill Crane said he’s glad troops were armed the entire time, particularly during a dangerous encounter at the border last month.
“We had one engagement that I know of where somebody was coming to the border with an AK-47. Thankfully, they saw our folks and they just turned and left.”
Pingley was there and said a coyote lead a group of migrants.
“Our guys were yelling at the coyote and the migrants to go back into Mexico, but they became frustrated, and he grabbed the AK-47,” he said.
There was also a lot of drug smuggling, Pingley said. While West Virginia is nowhere near the Mexico border, Pingley said that’s where a lot of the drugs come from.
“West Virginia, I get it, doesn’t see a lot of illegal migrants passing through. There is definitely a Cartel presence in West Virginia they need to be aware about,” he said.
Crane said he was surprised by the number of illegal crossings, but also by the different nationalities.
“It’s not just south and Latin Americans that are coming across that border. There were Ukrainians. There were Russians trying to cross that border,” he said.
Gov. Jim Justice joined troops during a welcome home event Thursday. He said their acts of bravery will not go unnoticed.
“You just think what it would feel like to be out in the middle of the desert in the night and run up on about 30 people that are trying to get into our country, maybe have guns and bad things, I mean you think what kind of courage that it takes for them to do their job?” Justice said.
The state-funded mission came in response to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s push to get a handle on in the influx of migrants. Abbott initially launched Operation Lone Star in March 2021, but in May of this year, he issued a disaster declaration, calling on other states to help with the crisis.
Justice said West Virginia will always answer the call to defend the country. He said people should be entering the U.S. legally.
“We ought to have a real push to shut this down and stop this,” he said. “We just can’t have the chaos going on right now.
Justice said he’ll send an aviation unit back to the border at the end of October, this time using federal dollars. Troops will patrol the border by air instead of on foot.