Thread: TX: Samaniego chides Dewhurst on border plans

Samaniego chides Dewhurst on border plans
By Brandi Grissom / Austin Bureau
El Paso Times
Apr 11, 2007

AUSTIN -- The El Paso County sheriff questioned in a strongly worded letter whether Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has reneged on his pledge to support border security efforts.
"It is too important in terms of public policy for it to become a victim of politics -- that is unless your support before was simply politics," Samaniego said in the letter sent Monday.

Samaniego said he was shocked and disappointed that the Senate's budget proposal would spend just about half the $100 million Gov. Rick Perry and the Texas Border Sheriffs Coalition have said they need for border operations.

And instead of sending the money to border police and sheriffs departments, the Senate plan would hire more Texas Department of Public Safety troopers.

That plan, Samaniego said, would devastate Texas border security efforts.

Spokesman Rich Parsons said Dewhurst does support spending $100 million on border security, and he said overall the budget does include those dollars. "He is absolutely committed to securing the border," Parsons said.

At a meeting in late March, Sama niego said, Dewhurst told border sheriffs he supported Perry's plan. "He assured us that he was behind it," Samaniego said.

Parsons said that soon after Dew hurst's meeting with the border sheriffs, senators told him they preferred sending border security dollars to the Public Safety Department.

He said Dewhurst worked with the senators to include a provision in the budget that would send county sheriffs $10 million if the governor ran out of federal grant money to give them.

Samaniego said that's not good enough; his deputies are tired of working overtime and need relief only more officers can provide.

"I'm just asking the lieutenant governor to get behind us, be the champion," he said.

Dewhurst would encourage Sa ma niego and other border sheriffs to come to Austin and work with lawmakers as they finalize the two-year budget, Parsons said.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/election/ci_5638564

And instead of sending the money to border police and sheriffs departments, the Senate plan would hire more Texas Department of Public Safety troopers.

So it can be pilfered by Perry and Pals! They are hedging their bets. If the bill passes that bans sanctuarys, then local law enforcement will be able to step up immigation enforcement efforts. However, if Perry hold the purse strings does it really matter if more enforcement is granted?

We know how underhanded Perry can be so I'm not willing to entrust him with any border security money. He's not going to trick us in to financing one of his pet projects like the TCC, after calling it boarder security to get elected.

Dixie