From violent crime to disease to an opioid epidemic, there are numerous reasons that critics of the Biden administration are calling for stronger border security and increased immigration law enforcement.
One issue that has received less attention involves a growing pile of trash along the U.S.-Mexico border.
While the border had been treated as a dumping ground for undocumented immigrants long before President Joe Biden’s inauguration, one individual who attempts to keep the problem under control has noticed a sharp uptick in the problem over the past few years.
John Rourke stages a trip to the border each Sept. 11 to help clean up the area and spoke to Breitbart News about the current situation. Ahead of his upcoming trip, he recalled finding an array of garbage, including discarded clothing, pills, and much more.
“There’s clothes everywhere,” he said during an interview last month. “There’s trash everywhere. There’s wild animals, dogs that are left behind when they cross the border. And border towns have wild dogs all over the place.”
After noticing the problem and deciding he could help, Rourke decided to make the annual trek on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
“So I have the Great American Cleanup where I go to border towns and I pick up trash on every 9/11,” he said. “And we raise money and donate it to the sheriff’s department for the town in which I clean up.”
Although the scope of the problem can be overwhelming, Rourke described his mission as a “life-changing” opportunity.
“It’s really an emergency, and I felt like I could help out,” he said. “I want to continue to serve. So that’s what I do. I go on every 9/11 and I pick up trash for three days.”
Only on Real America! Founder of The Great American Cleanup John Rourke recounts his recent visit to the border, and what he has witnessed illegal immigrants do to cross the border. Catch full episodes on the OAN Live app. #realamericawithdanball@DanNewsManBall pic.twitter.com/KJ8e5jWLRX
— One America News (@OANN) August 10, 2023
This year, he and his team will be in Brownsville, Texas, between Sept. 9 and 11. He has already staged a preliminary survey of the area, which he detailed in his recent interview.
“As you can see, what they do is they just pile the garbage, the trash on top of the razor wire … and then they just step right over it,” he said during a recording of his visit to Brownsville. “Always the same stuff.”
