SAN ANTONIO – States like Nebraska and Florida could soon be sending law enforcement to Texas to help patrol near the U.S.-Mexico border.
Maverick County Sheriff Tom Schmerber has concerns about the out-of-state agencies coming in to assist.
“I’m a little worried because they don’t know the area, and they don’t know the people. Here in Maverick County, we have a lot of Hispanics, so I’m just afraid that they might confuse just a regular citizen of being an immigrant. I expect a lot of complaints,” Schmerber said.
Recently, Florida’s governor said he would send law enforcement officers to Texas, as well.
The office of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sent KSAT the following statement:
“Several Florida law enforcement agencies have volunteered to be part of this effort, and the government of Florida is working with the government of Texas to determine exactly what resources are needed from our side to address this humanitarian and security crisis. We anticipate that we will be able to announce the details by the end of this week, and Florida law enforcement will be in Texas to help shortly thereafter.”
Nebraska’s governor also said the state would also assist and send about two dozen state troopers later this month to help patrol the border.
Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar says bringing in these law enforcement officers is a bad idea.
“To bring someone from out of town -- out of state, I should say -- you are going to set up some very interesting situations on that. All you need is just one situation, and that causes concern for the governor. I think the governor should be very careful when he asks people to come down,” Cuellar said.
Instead of having the law enforcement officers in the communities, Schmerber said they should be positioned along the river.
“Put them on the river where they could be seen, and maybe they would prevent the immigrants from crossing,” Schmerber said.
It’s still unclear when state troopers will arrive or how the costs of the deployment would be covered.
The Texas Department of State of Public Safety released the following statement on the matter:
“The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is committed to securing our border under the direction of Governor Greg Abbott. We are grateful to every agency that has offered assistance in making Texas and the United States more secure, and will be integrating other law enforcement agencies into our operations at the border as appropriate. While the department does not discuss operational specifics, we will continue to monitor the situation as it unfolds in order to make real-time decisions to protect the people and property of Texas.”
