The Local Cost of Illegal Immigration
Fayette County Judge Joe Weber asked other county leaders to begin documenting the cost associated with illegal immigration in the County.
At the Commissioners Court meeting last Thursday, Weber said he recently received a letter from Governor Greg Abbott asking for those numbers. He said Abbott plans to bill the Federal government for the costs as part of an initiative the Governor is calling “Operation Lone Star.”
“He’s going to send a bill to the Federal government because it’s their responsibility,” Weber said.
Law enforcement agencies around this area have seen a big increase in cases involving illegal immigration in recent months. Lavaca County officials declared a state of disaster on May 10 due to the crisis. The following night, Lavaca County Sheriff’s deputies chased two different vehicles in the area around Vienna and Speaks that were carrying suspected illegal immigrants. In both cases, numerous individuals bailed out of the vehicles and fled on foot. Only one person was apprehended. Both vehicles were reported stolen. The week before, Lavaca County Sheriff’s Office chased two other vehicles in the Hackberry area where about a dozen suspected illegal immigrants evaded deputies.
“It’s almost every other day someone is running through the woods down there from a car chase,” said Pct. 1 Commissioner Jason McBroom at Thursday’s meeting.
Last Tuesday in Fayette County, Sheriff’s Deputy A.J. Gonzales tried stopping a green GMC SUV for an equipment violation on Interstate 10 just west of Schulenburg. As the vehicle came to a stop, the driver fled from the vehicle on foot, running into the brush.
“Also seen fleeing from the passenger side of the vehicle, were 6-8 Hispanic males,” said a report from the Sheriff’s Office. “The males fled into the thick wooded area. A search of the area was conducted and no persons were found, the vehicle was towed. This incident is believed to be a human smuggling attempt.”
The Record spoke with Lt. David Beyer of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office following that chase. Beyer expressed frustration at the Federal government’s failure to address the immigration problem.
“You almost don’t want to chase them,” Beyer said. “They run from the police and put our citizens in danger. Maybe it would be better if they just kept on driving through and they’d be someone else’s problem.”
At Thursday’s meeting, Chief Deputy Randy Noviskie of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office echoed those sentiments.
“I don’t think there’s a county in Texas that has not been affected,” Noviskie said. “Anywhere along an Interstate or major US Highway, you’re going to have that problem.”
Pct. 3 Commissioner Harvey Berckenhoff asked Noviskie what the Sheriff’s Office does with the immigrants who are caught.
“We call (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and see if they can house them,” Noviskie said. “But the most of the people haven’t committed a crime. They’re the ones being transported. But the driver, the ‘coyote,’ that’s who law enforcement is trying to get.”
Noviskie said the coyotes carry cell phones. When they get involved in a chase and bail out, Noviskie said, they coyote will hide and use a cell phone to call someone to pick them up.
The commissioners discussed the challenges of documenting the cost of illegal immigration in the County. McBroom questioned how the County could document the cost of a Sheriff’s deputy who is on-duty when a chase starts.
“I can understand if you had to call some extra people in,” he said.
Weber said the County could more easily calculate the cost of someone who gets arrested and put in jail.