Debate rages over Mexico 'spillover violence' in U.S. [View all]

[Playinghardball]

TUCSON -- On an isolated ranch 10 miles from the Mexican border in southern Arizona, Tangye Beckham worries about what the night will bring. That's usually when her family's 100-acre ranch begins to crawl with drug and immigrant traffickers from Mexico heading north into the United States.

"They're belligerent, they carry weapons," she said. "It's a nightly problem with them being on the property. They've already tried to break in."

Recently, as she was closing one of her gates in the pre-dawn hours, Beckham found herself surrounded by a group of illegal immigrants and feared being attacked. By running to her car, she said, she was able to get away, badly shaken.

Two mountain ranges away, ranchers Christin Peterson and Sonny McCuistion have the same problem with armed Mexican smugglers crossing their properties. "It's upsetting and there's a lot of them. It hasn't decreased; there's a lot of traffic," said Peterson

http://dailynightly.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/15/10701978-debate-rages-over-mexico-spillover-violence-in-us