Sheriffs in the Southwest: Border ‘Spiraling Out of Control’

SANTA FE, N.M. — Describing the immigration crisis  as “spiraling out of control,” a coalition of five sheriffs’ organizations in the Southwest released a three-page statement calling on the federal government to resist “outright amnesty” for people in the country illegally.

The document called for increased funding for border security programs, including removal programs supervised by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and DNA samples, fingerprinting and iris scans for people apprehended for entering the U.S. without documentation.

“The immigration crisis has overwhelmed the capabilities of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and all the federal agencies attempting to assist in the efforts to secure our borders,” said the statement, approved by the boards of the Western States Sheriffs’ Association, the Texas Border Sheriff’s Coalition, the Southwestern Border Sheriffs’ Coalition, the New Mexico Sheriffs’ Association and the National Sheriffs’ Association.

The groups are meeting in Santa Fe through Wednesday.

“We’re not just saying we have problems,” said Donald Reay, executive director of the Texas Border Sheriff’s Coalition, based in El Paso. “We’re saying we have solutions to those problems.”

The sheriffs’ statement went on to say the coalition is willing to form a “united security zone in sufficient depth along the border” to ensure safety.

That prompted criticism from the American Civil Liberties Union.

“Sheriff’s deputies may need more resources to do their jobs, but enforcing federal immigrations laws is not one of them,” said Vicki Gaubeca, director of the Regional Center for Border Rights of the ACLU of New Mexico.

The sheriff’s coalition statement says, “Amnesty is not the answer.”

But wouldn’t the sheriffs’ five solutions be expensive?

“When you weigh the expense versus the benefit, absolutely not,” said Reay, who didn’t offer an estimate of the cost. “Because you are saving lives, you are identifying people later who are possibly criminals.”

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