By Karen Gleason
Val Verde County Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr. said he’ll ask Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for reimbursement of costs associated with the ongoing influx of migrants.
Abbott is set to meet with local officials, including Owens and Val Verde County Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez, during a trip to Del Rio Thursday.
“I’d like to be reimbursed for the individuals that we’re housing at the county jail on the state side. The DPS (Texas Department of Public Safety) is doing a great job, but with that comes a price to the county, so yes, I’d like to be reimbursed if at all possible,” Owens said Tuesday after the June regular term meeting of Val Verde County Commissioners Court.
“We’ve gone through the pandemic, we’ve gone through winter storms, we’ve gone through all kinds of stuff that there’s been money set aside for. This is just another storm. It is what it is,” the judge added.
Owens has estimated local taxpayers could be on the hook for a half a million dollars or more as a result of this year’s migrant influx.
“I’d like to, if it’s possible, for us to get reimbursed. We can’t afford to absorb the half a million dollars into our budget, and say, okay now versus collecting money from GEO, now you’re having to have to send a bunch of it back.
“And you know, I think right now the approach that I’m going to take is going to be, let’s listen to see what he’s going to come up with. Some of the stuff we’ve heard is maybe file charges for trespassing (against the migrants), and if that’s what he comes up with, again, there has to be a charge for that. It’s going to make things worse, because we don’t have the room,” Owens said.
The county judge said he would take a wait-and-see approach to Abbott’s visit.
“We need to wait and see as to what he’s going to come up with. Whether we agree with him or don’t agree with some of his decisions, we’ll let them play out, and I think he’s done a good job, so let’s wait and see what he’s bringing to the table, hear what announcements he’s going to make, but at the end of the day, if it costs us money, it’s just like anything else, we’re going to have to push it up,” Owens said.
If it’s going to cost the county money, push it to the state. If it costs the state money, push it to the federal government, especially since this is a federal problem,” Owens added.
Martinez said he, too, plans to wait and see what the governor has to say.
“He’s going to be meeting with the sheriffs before (the public meeting), and we want to support in some form or fashion, but it’s going to depend on the outcome of that meeting that we have with him prior to him making whatever announcement he’s going to make later. I don’t know what his ask is going to be, but there will be about 13 sheriffs that will be here for the roundtable discussion with the governor,” Martinez said.
“We all have concerns and especially, our concerns are that our jails are full, and he made a statement on Fox News a couple of weeks ago about putting people in jail for criminal trespass and have them sit in jail for six months to a year. That’s not realistic. It’s easier said than done,” the sheriff said.
“We’re just going to see where the meeting goes and see how we can all support his ask at the time. We’re going be in discussions to see how we can accomplish a certain goal, and that’s all I’m at liberty to say right now,” Martinez said.
The sheriff said his priority is keeping the community safe.
“We’ll be in talks to see how we can somehow protect our communities. It’ll be a good long discussion, and hopefully we’ll come out with something positive at the end of the day,” Martinez said.
