According to Benny Martinez, the incumbent sheriff of Brooks County in Texas, the U.S.-Mexico border should be shut down and secured if the government really wants to address illegal immigration and crime.
"The real discussion for me as a law enforcement [officer] is we have to shut this border down. We have to clean it. We have to put structures up there," he told Sam Bushman during the March 14 episode of "The Sheriff Mack Show" on Brighteon.TV. Bushman filled in for regular program host Sheriff Richard Mack.
"We have to maintain it first, then we go to the next phase. All those people are coming in, let's find out who they are," Martinez added. "We need to secure the border and refine ourselves as to what is it that we want to do here because there were a lot of moving parts that were still needed, a lot of layers in this issue."
Formerly a Texas state trooper, Martinez was first elected as Brooks County sheriff since 2009 and has served in the position since. He emphasized the importance of securing the border given the massive influx of illegal aliens, most especially those backed by criminal organizations. (Related: Crimes at the border: Illegal immigrants, illegal drugs flow freely in southwest border.)
Bushman warned that the illegal immigration problem is getting worse, and the issue becoming too partisan also adds fuel to the fire.
"There is a way to change this, though. There's a way to shut the illegal door," he said. "And then, there's a way to let people come legally. People who could get sponsors, people who could demonstrate they're not criminals [and] people who would come for the right reasons."
Biden admin doing nothing about illegal immigration issue it created
In response to Bushman's question about why massive illegal immigration is happening in America, Martinez answered that the Biden administration's rhetoric allowed it to happen. The sheriff also lamented how President Joe Biden himself is not doing much on the issue – describing the chief executive as having an "all words but no actions" approach.
Bushman, who also serves as the national operations director of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers of America, also mentioned that many Border Patrol agents are getting discouraged and quitting. Martinez agreed, lamenting how law enforcement officers have been viewed in a bad light.
To solve this, the Brooks County sheriff said the federal government must allow Border Patrol agents to do their work and stop applying policies that interfere with their jobs. He elaborated: "This administration is creating hurdle after hurdle to keep them from working. That's what gets them so depressed and just want to retire when they shouldn't be retiring."
The sheriff ultimately called for additional funding to help law enforcement officers guard and secure the border.
"We definitely need resources here. We need the boots on the ground. We need the technology, just like anyone else, just like along the border. The fact that we have the checkpoint, and it serves this purpose. That's what we need, the boots on the ground, the technology and the resources to go with it."
BorderSecurity.news has more news about America's shared border with Mexico.
Watch the March 14 episode of "The Sheriff Mack Show" below. "The Sheriff Mack Show" airs every Tuesday at 10 a.m. on Brighteon.TV.
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