Illegal immigrants bring crime, death surge to rural Texas community

Just miles from El Paso lies Hudspeth County, a sparsely populated ranching community that's faced an unprecedented flood of migrants since October, and with them, an influx of crime and death, residents and law enforcement told Fox News.

Two ranchers, along with a detained illegal immigrant, spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of the Mexican cartels, which profit off trafficking migrants across the border.

The Texas community has seen several break-ins allegedly committed by illegal immigrants, including a recent one where firearms were stolen, Hudspeth County Sheriff Arvin West told Fox News in an exclusive interview from his office in Sierra Blanca, which also houses the county jail. 

The town, the largest in the county, is home to around 800 residents and most of the migrants flooding in have been from the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.

"We've had several break-ins. Typically they break in, they try to find food, water, things to continue on their journey," West said. "Here recently, we had a break in where they broke into the house and stole a bunch of guns. That's a big concern."