Border Enforcement/Law Enforcement

About three months ago, the State of Texas appropriated $6 million in state criminal justice grants to border sheriffs.  The grants were part of “Operation Linebacker” — a law enforcement operation with the stated goal of reducing crime along the border.  An interesting article in Monday’s San Antonio Express News raised some questions as to whether the threat of crime along the border has been unecessarily exagerrated to secure funding for the sheriffs.  One passage of the article reads:

“The situation isn’t as bad as they’re saying. They’re using the danger in Mexico to their advantage to fund their departments,” said one border city police officer, referring to ongoing drug war violence on the border.  “In the process, they’re scaring everyone,” said the officer, who asked that his name and department not be used to avoid a breakdown in cooperation with the sheriffs.

Jay Johnson, owner of a Del Rio bed-and-breakfast who dedicates himself to border tourism, said the sheriffs did well to receive the funding, but that they overstated the threat from Mexico. “I know the sheriff and respect the sheriff, but I believe certain comments paint a picture that’s quite unfair when it comes to our sister city of Acuña, even if it does bolster his argument for funds,” he said. 

Obviously, more disinterested inquiry would be needed to get to the bottom of the issue.  But the rhetoric surrounding the issue of border security certainly ensures that if law enforcement officials cared to inflate the border security threats, fears would be easy to stoke.  It seems important to at least be aware of cautionary notes such as these, at a time when more and more state and federal resources are applied to border militarization.

A link to the full Express News story is here.

-jmc