MARTIN COUNTY — Sheriff William Snyder learned a lot from a visit to Arizona's southern border county last week, including that the county's sheriff's office doesn't have enough personnel to deal with illegal border crossings. That's what he said.
Mr. Snyder, along with Capt. Ruben Romero and Lt. Gavin Werner, visited Cochise County, Arizona, last week. Snyder said he accepted an invitation from Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels for a visit and a “detailed briefing on the implications of opening the border.”
During a Feb. 1 media address to talk about his upcoming trip, Snyder mentioned significant drug arrests and seizures there, as well as issues related to illegal aliens. He said he wanted to know “how they are dealing with social turmoil.”
Snyder, who said he returned Friday, shared several observations in an interview this week that he said could be helpful in Martin County.
“If I had to describe this trip in one word, I would say it was epic,” Snyder said. “We learned a really, really great deal about the human smuggling phenomenon that is prevalent at the border.”
He said he has learned that people who cross the Mexican border in Texas are typically from countries where they can apply for asylum and are “trying to turn themselves in.”
But people crossing Arizona are “100 percent” trying to avoid arrest, Snyder said.
“They're either criminals who don't qualify for asylum, or they're from countries that don't qualify for asylum,” he said. “Nobody surrenders to law enforcement in Arizona. That's not the only thing going on there.”
Snyder said local sheriff's offices in Arizona don't have enough staff.
“We did see Border Patrol facilities, but they didn't appear to be heavily guarded,” Snyder said. “I was really surprised at how easy it was to get over the border fence.”
Snyder said his agency has been able to connect with Border Patrol officials and provide them with more resources.
“We are currently in direct contact with some very sophisticated data systems, data banks, in Arizona,” Snyder said. “This additional information now available to those of us who are familiar with law enforcement can be extremely helpful in complex cases.”
Snyder said the trip was paid for through “excessive campaign funds.”
“After you run for office, the state allows you to keep $10,000, which you can use for educational purposes or work-related travel,” he said. “That's what I paid for with my own money.”
He said sheriff's office training funds were used to pay for Romero and Werner's travel expenses.
Snyder said very few drugs cross the border through Arizona. He said drugs are often brought in through tunnels.
He said local police are picking up illegal immigrants in the desert and driving them to the airport.
“That's the crime they're dealing with: human smuggling,” Snyder said.
He said the federal government needed to be “all in.”
He said Cochise County deputies also have to manage typical law enforcement issues such as domestic affairs, theft and car accidents.
“This is a federal issue, not a local issue,” Snyder said.
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Will Greenlee is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will on X @OffBeatTweet Or call us at 772-267-7926.send him an email will.greenlee@tcpalm.com.
