A Democratic Texas sheriff praised Republican Governor Greg Abbott amid the state’s border wall construction along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Texas is the only U.S. state building its own border wall, spending billions of dollars as part of Abbott’s controversial Operation Lone Star, a program that began in March 2021 allowing Texas National Guard soldiers and state troopers to arrest illegal immigrants.
In an interview Monday with NewsNation, Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez of Val Verde County, Texas, said he supports Abbott’s efforts. Martinez says the wall isn’t a political issue, but he believes it’s a national security issue. He said he supports Abbott’s actions, saying the wall protects his border community.
“I appreciate what Governor Abbott is doing to the west of us,” Martinez said. “Those efforts will protect our community, will help keep our community safe. I know there’s still some gaps within that fence, so hopefully technology will cover those gaps to where people can respond, or agents can respond.”
In an aerial view, immigrants walk along the U.S.-Mexico border fence on March 13 in El Paso, Texas. The border between the two nations stretches nearly 2,000 miles, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean and is marked by fences, deserts, mountains and the Rio Grande, which runs the entire length of Texas.
AFP/Getty Images
Newsweek emailed the offices of Martinez and Abbott on Monday afternoon for comment. This article will be updated with any provided statements.
Martinez’ county shares 110 miles with Mexico. Del Rio, the Val Verde County seat, was in the spotlight in 2021 when tens of thousands of Haitian migrants were expelled from the U.S. after entering the country through Mexico .
Martinez told NewsNation that the uncompleted structure is an “eyesore” and ineffective due to the fact that it’s largely made of chicken wire.
“I wish that we just finished this structure here to where it’s not an eyesore. You got basically three different types of fences that are standing here. So, you know, just one continuous fence, that would be great,” Martinez said.
The Trump administration built 52 new miles of border barrier on the 1,254-mile Texas-Mexico border over four years, according to reports.
Under Operation Lone Star, Cameron, Maverick, Starr, Val Verde and Webb counties have seen new border wall erected in their communities, according to reporting by the Houston Chronicle.
Abbott’s latest weekly update into Operation Lone Star states the effort has led to over 511,600 illegal immigrant apprehensions and more than 43,100 criminal arrests, with more than 38,000 felony charges.
The update also states that Texas law enforcement has seized over 481 million lethal doses of fentanyl since March of 2021.
In January, Texas seized control of Shelby Park, a riverfront area in the border city of Eagle Pass that is one of the busiest locations for people attempting to cross into the U.S., and began denying entry to Border Patrol agents, escalating a feud with President Joe Biden‘s administration over immigration enforcement. The Justice Department argued the wire impedes the government’s ability to patrol the border and go to the aid of migrants in need of help.
The Supreme Court ruled that Border Patrol agents could cut or remove the razor wire that Texas has put up along the banks of the Rio Grande to deter migrants from entering the U.S. illegally.
Abbott remained defiant despite the Supreme Court’s ruling, declaring that Texas had a “constitutional right to self-defense.” As the lawsuit over the wire continues, he said that more razor wire will be put up along the border.
Critics of Operation Lone Star say it could have harmful effects on immigrants, as well as encourage other states to follow suit with similar legislation.
One of those critics, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), published a report on Wednesday saying that Operation Lone Star has cost more than $11.2 billion since its inception.
It also accuses Texas law enforcement of racial profiling, saying that 96.6 percent of arrests for alleged trespassing involved Latinos. It also reports that some 70 percent of court appearances related to suspected border crimes have been misdemeanor-type charges like trespassing rather than drug-related offenses or human smuggling or weapon charges.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.