11 May 2023

My talk with Todd Bensman. I am in El Paso on border. Tod is on other side of Texas on the Gulf of Mexico side.

TODD BENSMAN:
They're not getting anywhere. They're all standing on the opposite bank and

Michael Yon
I'm gonna record what you're saying because you're saying what you're saying is historical. I just turned the recorder on. Can you say that again? Like, they're, they're where you're at and what's going on because I'm gonna I'm gonna quote you.

TODD BENSMAN
This is this is a classic Mexican standoff going on here where Texas Governor Greg Abbott has decided that he is going to deploy his tactical National Guard unit along with the razor wire line on the riverbank itself and physically, like NFL, you know, tackle block any emigrants from breaching that wire. And so they were a cross and a huge group, and they're like, you will not pass and they're all standing on the riverbank until they give up and they returned to Mexico. Like I've never seen this before. There is not a single Border Patrol agent in sight. This is definitely a Texas operation. And then they come back on the Mexican side. They pull back maybe 200… Oh my gosh. Come back out of the water and go 500 yards down and try to cross through this heavy thick river weed field where they just can't move. They're just trapped in this thing. They're exhausted. They they're just stuck down there. And there's a national like a red cross Mexican Red Cross guy. begging them all Don't go in there. Don't go in there with your children. You're gonna drown it's dangerous. You can't should not go in there. And they're all just like, Screw you, man. We're going in. We're going in and they're all just like wallowing around down there in move, not able to stop and some of them that gets to the riverbank are just now. Tracking laterally along the barbed wire and the National Guard are following them. Down the line. You're not passing and you're not getting over this. This wire. It's just it's amazing. What's going on here. I've never seen I've never seen any sort of confrontation like this between law enforcement on our side. Not in the two and a half years that I've covered this thing. It's strictly a Welcome Wagon. You've seen it. I know you've seen I've been with you. But we've seen it together. It's a red carpet in and now it's we've got rifles ARs is that looks like and side arms tactical gear and I believe that they are armed with pepper balls in case any of these guys tried to get first

Hey, Michael, yeah,

Michael Yon
Where exactly are you at?

TODD BENSMAN
I am in Matamoros
Michael Yon
Matamoros, All right, I am going to publish this right now.

TODD BENSMAN
Okay, well, if you I have a little I got one tweet up. There's one tweet with a pretty damn good video on it that you can use just, you know, credit me or say you know, Bensman, put this out. And then there's a whole bunch more. I mean, I've got this thing on tape. I just can't get it up and out.

Michael Yon
Because your internet's terrible now.

TODD BENSMAN
Yeah, it's just terrible over here. Okay, so you know the guard. I'm following them on a river road on a mic side. And the guard is just following them down. Kind of let him over. And that's how it's gonna go. I was told by a senior Texas state official who said that.
Nobody got on the horn in order dish. Got these tactical got this Tactical Unit deployed and got the razor wire put back up.

Michael Yon
Okay. Let me clarify. This is Michael Yon speaking to Todd Bensman. You said Greg Abbott when he saw your video of 1000s of people coming in that broke up a little bit.

TODD BENSMAN
Yes, that when he saw my video of 1000s of mostly Venezuelan immigrants, just crossing with no resistance or opposition through the razor wire that they had set out there was no bad you know, batched guys over there. He was infuriated on the horn and started sweeping you know, with his people saying you're going to end this now you're going to get you gotta guard that razor wire. We're going to be down there for two years straight if that's what it takes. Down there now. The very last morning, Texas DPS on the razor wire blocking like NFL players. The next set of migrants that tried to come across. I shot that video and it went viral. Video went viral. Alejandro Mayorkas called a press conference to condemn Texas for doing this by not collaborating with Border Patrol and this is not an operation that border patrol will collaborate on under Joe Biden because this blocks and stops immigrants and they're all about accommodating and facilitating and quickening the flow of these immigrants into the country. So you will not see Border Patrol anywhere.

And I think that the state of Texas is going to take its heels in on this operation. I'm walking down the riverbank tracking the migrants who are now moving laterally on this side of the Mexican side they're actually all on US soil now. They're looking for maybe a gap or an opening. I don't know what they think they're going to do. I mean, they're doing nothing except coming back over here. So it's going to happen because I'm watching them move into what looks like a whole squad of National Guardsmen down there who are building this razor wire fast as my defense all along this thing. So I am now you know, six 700 yards down from the original Mexican standoff and migrants on my right on the Mexican side are all moving down looking for an opening looking for a place where there's no national guardsmen and there's nothing but National Guardsmen these ones

Michael Yon
Alright man, this is Michael Yon again talking with Todd Bensman. And this is a I translating this because I'm in a I'm going to the border here on El Paso as well. Hey, Todd, I might see you very soon. Okay, I hope to see you again man. Definitely we'll see it brother be safe

All right, that's the phone call is now ended. This is Michael Yan. I was talking with Todd Bensman. And that phone call is terminated.