RIOLICO, Ariz. (KGUN) – Santa Cruz County Sheriff says he has separated deputies from a program that has worked with the Border Patrol.
Sheriff David Hathaway says Operation Stonegarden put lawmakers under border patrol control and paid overtime in federal dollars.
The sheriff says he had moved his division out of Operation Stone Garden, even before Donald Trump became president. He says patrols of the border, and his department simply has different priorities.
“Nogales, Arizona, is 95% Hispanic. Santa Cruz County is 80% Hispanic. I don’t want to have any fear or tension between the community and my sheriff’s office. We run a 911 dispatch center for the county. Intruders at the backdoor.
Hathaway says the court has determined that state and local agencies will not be forced to enforce immigration laws.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department and Tucson Police dropped out of Operation Stone Garden a while ago.