Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
President Joe Biden and the U.S. Congress – by failing to hold Biden accountable – allowed Val Verde County to be invaded by persons who illegally entered the country.
That is the message Val Verde County Commissioners Court members say they want to deliver as they move to form a coalition with other border counties and cities to file lawsuits against Congress and the president.
The court – comprised of four Democrats and one Republican – voted unanimously on Tuesday to form the border coalition and seek to file those lawsuits, one against the U.S. Congress and one against Biden.
County Commissioner Pct. 3 Beau Nettleton placed the items for consideration on the September regular term meeting of the court.
After County Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr. spoke at length about the migrant situation and its aftermath, Nettleton also addressed the court.
“I put this item on the agenda because of the last week or so that we’ve been dealing with this, but it isn’t the last week or so. We’ve been dealing with this in Del Rio for years, and it’s progressively getting worse . . . We see the inability of our people in Washington to understand that there’s a problem and do something about it,” Nettleton said.
The U.S. Congress has failed to hold Biden accountable to enforce the country’s laws and put Val Verde County in jeopardy, the commissioner said.
He noted there is rumor of another large group of migrants making their way through Mexico to the Texas border and said the same problem Del Rio saw over the past two weeks will occur again, whether here or in another border city.
“It’s the president’s job to enforce the laws, not to allow what we saw here in Del Rio. Thank the Lord that the state of Texas stepped up and sent what they sent, and thank the Lord for the Border Patrol agents that we have. But when we have people in Washington vilifying our law enforcement the way they did and trying to make heroes out of criminals, is completely and utterly inexcusable, and it’s a disgrace to this country,” Nettleton said.
“I’ve put these two items on the agenda because I am sick and tired of this. I’ve watched it and watched it and watched it. And the amount of money that it cost our community to deal with this issue; we’re still putting numbers together on what that might be.
“And for the state of Texas to set aside $3 billion to deal with border issues that are a federal problem, is $3 billion we could have used to improve our schools, $3 billion we could have used to improve our highway infrastructure, but we’re having to do the federal government’s job while they sit in Washington and argue with each other and get absolutely nothing accomplished,” Nettleton said.
“We’ve talked about immigration reform for as long as I can remember. Both parties have had control of Washington at one point or another over the last 20 years, and we have failed to do anything about it, other than to create the mess that we have today. It is inexcusable, and it is time that we get together with other counties and cities along the border and stand up and do something,” the commissioner continued.
“Can Val Verde County take this on by itself? Probably not. But we need to build a coalition of other counties and cities that are having these same issues and make a stand. It’s time to make a stand. It’s time to stop what’s going on, and we need to go down that road. I don’t want to put this county in that position, but we don’t have a choice because this is going to happen again somewhere else, and it has to end,” Nettleton said.
The commissioner’s impassioned address became even more emotional when he spoke about Border Patrol agents on horseback being condemned for their actions.
“When we see the things that I see in Washington, and (they) vilify our law enforcement and our Border Patrol agents the way they were vilified, crucify them before there’s even an investigation, that is inexcusable. I think every single one of those agents. . .
Nettleton paused, overcome with emotion.
When he was able to continue, he said, “They kept this community safe. Because without them, we would have a mess. I don’t know what the hell happened to this country. This is not the country I grew up in, and this is not the country I want to leave my children.
“It’s sad. It really, really is, that we have representatives that we elect that could care less about the American people. It is completely and utterly inexcusable that we have found ourselves in this mess. But right now, Del Rio, Texas, and Val Verde County are the center of the world, and the whole entire world is watching us. This is our chance to stand up and do something, to make a statement and make a point that enough is enough. This needs to end,” Nettleton said.
“The president of the United States and the president of Mexico need to get together and come up with a solution. I agree with the judge: closing the international bridge brought the attention that this needed. Because at the end of the day, the only thing anybody cares about in Washington is money,” he added.
Then he laid out his plan.
“I think we need to build a coalition. I don’t think this is something Val Verde County can step off and do all by itself, so my motion would be to have the judge write letters to counties and cities up and down the border and to the counties around us and ask if they would join with us to move forward with litigation towards the president and Congress to once and for all resolve this. Fix immigration and fix this problem,” Nettleton said.
All three of the other commissioners simultaneously gave the second to the motion, which then passed unanimously.
You can contact the writer at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com .
