By Karen Gleason
Val Verde County Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez said Friday the country’s federal elected leaders in both parties must work together to solve the nation’s immigration crisis.
The sheriff said his office has encountered more than 300 migrants so far this month. Typically, Martinez said, the deputies see the migrants along the vega area near the Rio Grande and stay with them until Border Patrol is able to transport them for processing.
Martinez said so far, there has been no increase in crime related to the recent surge in immigrant numbers.
“They have been very peaceful,” Martinez told the 830 Times.
Martinez said he met with residents of Vega Verde Road, a narrow strip of privately-owned homes and properties along the Rio Grande, about a week ago to discuss the migrant situation.
“There were about 25 of them there, and one woman who was at the meeting asked me, ‘If one of them (migrants) is knocking on my door, what can I legally do? I got a license to carry. Can I shoot him?’ I told her no,” Martinez said, shaking his head.
Still, he acknowledged some of the residents, especially those who live alone or who are left alone because a partner works during the day, are fearful.
“The immigrants are not breaking in anywhere. They are turning themselves in. Border Patrol, our deputies are helping them out of the river, and then standing by with them until transport gets there,” Martinez said.
He agreed the current immigration crisis is only a symptom of a problem that has plagued the country for decades.
The sheriff said he believes the answer to the current immigration crisis is for Democratic and Republican elected leaders to craft a long-term solution.
“I think that both sides need to come together and find a solution somewhere in the middle, a solution that everybody can live with,” Martinez said.
“They need to have a solid immigration system. If not, we’re going to go back and forth like this forever. I look at it like they’re both playing football between the 40-yard lines, and they’re punting to each other. Nobody’s ever going to score a touchdown until they sit down and get a plan together,” the sheriff added.
Martinez said he is in frequent contact with local leaders of the Border Patrol and those of other federal law enforcement partners.
“We’ve had some lower numbers (of migrants) this week because of the storm we had the other night, and the Border Patrol had some more agents out there because they didn’t have as many people to process. But once the numbers start to grow again, they’re going to get tied up, and my deal is, I want to keep the residents of this community safe.
“I don’t want any harm to come to one of the migrants because one of our citizens is afraid and does something crazy, so I don’t want the migrants wandering the streets in the Cienegas or Chaparral areas (subdivisions outside the city limits and close to the border), and we’re going to do whatever it takes to keep our community safe, because this is not going to go away,” Martinez said.
