By Rick Staly
What happens at the border with Mexico impacts every community in the United States with drug addiction, overdoses and deaths. It strains community social services, health and education systems, law enforcement, court systems, county jails and state prisons. And it affects crime rates. It doesn’t matter if you are 1,300 miles away, like Flagler County, or living in the Rio Grande Valley at the Mexican border: you are being affected and paying for what happens or does not happen at the border. This is not a Republican, Democratic or Independent issue. It is an American crisis, and the border crisis is coming to you whether you like it or not.
Myself and four other Florida sheriffs and a police chief joined Florida Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., on a fact-finding mission to ground zero along the Texas-Mexico southern border in McAllen, Texas and other border towns such as Roma, Texas. (Cammack invited all Florida Sheriffs to join her on a fact-finding mission to the border. In my case the $848 cost of the trip–flight and hotel room–was paid by the drug dealers of Flagler County from drug seized assets/profits, which I think is ironic. I personally paid for any meals and incidentals like I always do when I travel on Agency business although Florida law does allow me to be reimbursed, but I choose not to do that.)
The McAllen sector is in my opinion ground-zero for human and drug smuggling in America and is known by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as the Rio Grande Valley Sector. This is also where 18 percent of all narcotics are seized by CBP, and they believe they only seize a fraction of the narcotics actually being smuggled in to America by Mexican cartels.
Based on intelligence reports I have received as sheriff, we know that fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine invading Flagler County and other communities across the nation is coming from Mexico. At the southern border, seizures of fentanyl are 182 percent higher this year than this same time last year [5,298 since January, as opposed to 1,876 by June 2020] with CBP seizing 1,060 pounds of the deadly drug in June 2021 alone. In comparison, in June 2019 CBP seized only 293 pounds. Recently, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods told us Florida seized over a dozen “bricks” of heroin and fentanyl stamped with markings from a Mexican drug cartel. (See the picture here.) Ocala is less than 2-hours from Flagler County.
We were boots-on-the-ground for over 28-hours. After we arrived in McAllen, Texas, we were briefed on the border situation by Cammack’s staff and then by the Border Patrol Council, a labor union. Interestingly, no one from CBP leadership was present to discuss the situation. We then toured the border area near McAllen. We saw hundreds of migrants in a chain link fence compound under an expressway overpass waiting to be processed at the Temporary Outdoor Processing Site or TOPS. They would be seen by two medical contractors only checking for lice and scabies but not Covid. The CBP goal is to process them within six to eight hours and then turn them over to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
We continued on patrol and went to a completed section of the border wall. When you think of a border wall you think it is actually on the border. But that is not the case in Texas. The wall is actually a quarter to 3-miles inland from the Rio Grande River, so when the migrants turn themselves in or are found they are already deep on American soil.
[Editor’s note: Some migrants are let in and given court dates based on their asylum claim, some are detained, some are returned, and most of those given court dates–56 percent, according to a fact-checking analysis by the Washington Post–do show up, with other tracking studies showing higher rates, once differences between completed and ongoing cases are accounted for.]
They come with the clothes on their back and maybe a small backpack. That night more than 100 migrants entered the United States from just this one location. We left the wall at 12:30 a.m. We were told this cycle repeats itself every night at various areas across the Texas border.
The next day we started at 7 a.m. and got back to our hotel room at 3:30 a.m. the next morning. The day started with a briefing by high-ranking officials of the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) on Operation Lone Star. We then joined DPS/Texas Highway Patrol on a patrol boat on the Rio Grande. After a briefing and donning a heavy armored vest that also doubled as a life-jacket, we boarded our 34-foot patrol boat (the boats are actually made in Clearwater, Fla.) equipped with three 350hp outboard motors for a total of 1,050hp. To understand just how dangerous it is to patrol the Rio Grande because of the Mexican cartels smuggling drugs, each DPS boat is equipped with five .50 caliber machine guns and plenty of ammo.
Heavy armor steel plate area used to protect the Troopers. CBP had told us that cartels will shoot at their boats but not at DPS. As we left the docks, we observed scouts for the drug cartels letting the cartels know when DPS was on patrol. We also noticed beautiful mansions on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande that, according to DPS, are owned by the cartels. We did not engage or see any smuggling during our patrol of the Rio Grande but we did see plenty of indicators.
Next, we were briefed by ICE/Homeland Security Investigations. So far this year they have seized over 140,000 pounds of methamphetamine and estimate by the end of the year they will seize close to 200,000 pounds. They showed us videos of brutal attacks they intercepted that cartels use to send warnings to “traitors” such as cutting out a heart from a living person and holding it in the palm of their hand as it still beats before decapitating the person or cutting off a live person’s limbs with a chainsaw. All of this is occurring within two miles of the U.S. border. Mexico’s drug cartels are buying the chemicals to make these dangerous drugs from labs in Wuhan, China. Chinese money launderers have teamed up with Mexican cartels to profit and “wash” the money through Chinese businesses because of laws passed by Mexico tracking large deposits.
We then went to a border farm on the Rio Grande River and met the farmers who have farmed this land for generations. We learned from them how migrants cut down their fences and trespass on their property, and how they occasionally find a dead person on their land, how their farms are destroyed when a human trafficker flees from police crashing through their crops and then migrants run through their land to escape apprehension. They said that on one hand they support the wall, but on the other hand they do not, because it splits their land, making it harder to farm and irrigate, or because it was built in areas they didn’t feel was needed. No one from the federal government had asked for their input. The federal government under a unique law called the Declaration of Taking Act is allowed to exercise that taking in exchange for a check, almost overnight.
On our way to the farm, we saw stacks and stacks of border wall purchased by the federal government just sitting and rusting. We were told the federal government stopped the construction but could not stop millions in payments already executed through contract. I saw stacks and stacks of border wall, partial installation, wall foundations built and excavation areas and no work being done.
After dinner, where the farmers joined us too, we joined a DPS lieutenant where for the next 6.5 hours we were on patrol with him outside McAllen, Texas, then to Roma, Texas, located in Starr County. Roma, Texas is ground zero for human smuggling because the Rio Grande River is shallow and narrow. DPS tells us they hear the cartels shooting at each other over control of Ciudad Miguel Alemán in Tamaulipas, Mexico, which is the border town across from Roma, Texas. Controlling this border town is strategically and financially important to the cartels.
Cartels are making $6,000 per person or a discounted rate of $12,000 for a family of three, depending on the country of origin. CBP apprehends 6,000 people per day, which means the cartels deal in a multi-billion dollar smuggling business. Cartels use wrist bands of different colors indicating which cartel the immigrants paid for safe passage. The American side of the Rio Grande River banks are littered with these bands. If you can’t pay you “work-off” your cost by working in slave labor shops, in the sex trade or smuggling drugs in to the United States. Passage to America is not safe without a wristband.
There is no deterrent for coyotes along the border. At an area known as the “boat ramp” in Roma, Texas we could see the town of Ciudad Miguel Alemán in Mexico, an official border crossing nearby, and smugglers and their “clients” lining up on the Mexican side of the river to be brought to American soil. It was here that we witnessed the human smugglers or “coyote’s” walk across the Rio Grande pulling a raft filled with 8 to 10 migrants, mostly women and children, bringing them to America in plain view of National Guard troops, DPS and CBP. They would drop them off and return to Mexico to fill another raft. They had no fear of arrest because as officials told us, if they try to arrest them, the coyotes dump the raft over, forcing CBP or National Guard to conduct a rescue mission. (In May alone CPB performed over 7,000 rescues. Though the figure applies to the nation as a whole, most are along the southern border.)
Often this is done to divert or distract CBP and the National Guard so drug smuggling, MS-13 gang members or other criminals or previously deported individuals can cross further up-steam or downstream. We witnessed one coyote who would purposely bring his raft to a rocky area while talking on a cell phone to divert authorities. This is the same coyote who boldly told the National Guard that on his next trip over, he was bringing a 2-month-old infant, and if they tried to arrest him he would throw the infant in the river.
We were told if they don’t wait until the raft is unloaded it is too dangerous to go into the water on slippery rocks with all their gear, and the coyote only has to get to the middle of the river to be back in Mexico. If they flatten or sink the raft, the coyotes just buy another one because there is so much money involved and the rafts cost pennies compared to the overall profits in human smuggling. Ironically, passengers wear masks and life jackets for the “voyage.”
At this one location called the “boat ramp” 180 migrants turned themselves in to the National Guard and CBP. They are taken by a CBP bus to a Temporary Outdoor Processing Site. Once CBP is done they turn them over to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services which then turns them over to a “Non-Governmental Organization” or NGO. The NGO’s then buy them a bus or airline ticket, give them some cash and send them on their way across America with a Notice to Appear in Court. (Not every migrant who crosses is dispersed into the country. A portion are. But migrants are also expelled under Title 42, a policy the Biden administration is continuing, as this CBP memo details, or they are detained. In May according to CPB, 62 percent of all encounters with migrants resulted in expulsions alone. The NGOs are involved in the process only from a humanitarian perspective and do not have court or legal authority to issue notices to appear.)
We were told by CBP to look for “brown envelopes” when we got to the airport as many of the migrants we saw crossing the border would be on our plane. CBP was right. There were hundreds of brown envelopes at the airport. Vans were dropping them off in front of the airport and then they went to a special access line where no photo identification was needed and boarded planes, including ours. On the front of the envelopes in big letters was printed “Please help me. I do not speak English. I am getting on flight #… to…” and a location was listed. Just walking through the airport I saw Orlando, Miami and Tampa destinations and there were many other people holding brown envelopes with destinations I could not see. And, we the taxpayers are paying for this because the NGO’s, such as Catholic Charities and Methodist Children’s Homes, request reimbursement for their costs through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
However, this is not my biggest concern with illegal immigration. The people that cross the border and turn themselves in are just looking for a better life for themselves and their families. Who could blame them? We are the greatest nation on earth with the most opportunity (obviously I wish they would enter legally but our broken immigration system has caused this crisis). They have come from over 140 countries just this year. This is not just the southern triangle problem or Mexico’s.
My biggest concern is what we were told are the “got-aways” that are in this country. On July 13th alone we were told there were 204 of them, or the equivalent of 75,000 in a year. The actual number may be higher, though verifiable figures are difficult to find. (A Washington Post report in April cited Border Patrol Deputy Chief Raul Ortiz saying in February that his agency in “had recorded 1,000 got-aways on a single day, describing that as an unusual event. But since then, the figure has become a new normal.”) What is a “got-away?” Got-aways are individual migrants who don’t want to be detected by CBP or DPS. They include the criminal element such as MS-13 gang members, one of the most vicious gangs in the world, drug mules, fugitive criminals and those that are trying to return again after being deported before or for committing crimes in the United States. These are the most dangerous migrants. They have been spotted by CBP detection devices but couldn’t be caught. We know they are in our country but who are they and where did they go?
Administration policies matter and have significant influence on the security of our country. Today 43 percent of CBP agents are assigned and doing “child care” instead of drug interdiction and catching the dangerous “got-aways.” The CBP union told us the stay in Mexico policy until your scheduled hearing worked. CBP also is using a Title 42 Emergency Order to expel migrants and is fearful that once Title 42 expires the floodgates will open even more. Title 42 allows CBP to immediately deny access and expel migrants immediately back to Mexico or their home country because of the pandemic. This is the last tool that CBP has available to protect Americans and immediately deport migrants.
This is a problem of epic proportions and the border is coming to a town near you. That is why local law enforcement must take action to understand the scope and cause of the problem and the influx of people and drugs coming to their town, city and county to be able to take action to protect their community. It is time that our elected representatives, on both sides of the aisle, fix the broken immigration policy and the real crisis at the border. As it stands today, we have no functional or secure border and it is putting every American in the United States at risk. A country without a border is no country.
Rick Staly was elected Flagler County Sheriff in 2016 and reelected in 2020. Reach him by email here.
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Mary Koonce says
I think we have enough problems in the State of Florida why don’t you guys stay here and try to solve some of those instead of trying to create more
TC says
They went there to see what they will be dealing with with crim,drugs,etc coming here you can put your head in the sand and make believe these problems won’t affect you obviously you are liberal and can’t see the forest for the trees
T says
This is been going on for years and now only they care and you need to be educated more on what America was founded on racism and attack on democrats how they are failing america bs lets list trumps failures
MikeM says
Your tune will change if it affects you. Thank Biden for opening the floodgates. The feds want to keep everybody under their Covid protocol thumb but do not test anyone coming across the border illegally. Imagine that.
Drama Queen says
I do not understand why our elected sheriff had to go there. He offered no different insight than Ive seen before and no plan to fix the issue. Just another politician who wants to feel like he is important.
Trailer Bob says
Ummm. Many of these dreamers are ending up in Florida…all over Florida. Staley is the sheriff of Flagler County and has to deal with this. It would only make sense that he would accept an invitation to go to the boarder and get a better idea os the situation and get all the info he can from federal authorities on it. It’s his job. We still have laws and he is a part of the enforcement of those laws. You didn’t pay for the trip, so why the unAmerican BS?
Steve says
It’s been a Crisis for decades. No Administration has chose to fix it. It will likely get worse before improving. A wall alone is not the answer. A combination of many things must happen. It’s not too late?to fix it. This will take a long time to repair unfortunately
TC says
Trump had it much more under control and would have continued he was reelected biden immediately opened the door and now It’s out of control, keep electing idiots like Biden, harris, pelosi, shumer, and the squad and this is the future the end of USA we are heading for third world status
Feddy says
Like him or not Trump was fixing the problem until Biden decided to make the US a open house. Why are we concerned about Covid outbreaks and super spreader events and getting vaccinated but we allow thousands per day enter with testing then ship them off to all parts of the country? There’s a big portion of the out breaks and super spreaders.
R. S. says
This is typical scare tactic about all the drugs coming into the country and into Flagler county. Fact is that of all the bookings in Flagler county in 2020 of African Americans only 10 percent were drug related; and of bookings of Euro-Americans, 13 percent were drug related. And those arrests were mainly of drug paraphernalia or marijuana possession of 20 or fewer grams—about a teaspoonful of stuff. The drug arrests would go down if marijuana were to be legalized as it is in most of the progressive and non-punitively thinking states.
Deborah Coffey says
Further, if we didn’t have so many Americans WANTING the drugs, the smuggling wouldn’t even pay. Demand causes supply. Let’s put the blame where it belongs…on our own foolish people and Big Pharma.
Bill C says
100% agree. The demand for drugs in the U.S. is the CAUSE of the problem. The real question is why are Americans so drug dependent? Big Pharma is a contributor, but so is poverty, inequality, and hopelessness. (MS13 originated in Los Angeles).
joseph falis says
Maybe every Senator from every state should have the same experience you and other like you had, instead of just going to the “border” for a PHOTO OP. Maybe they will “do their jobs” ???.
Jimbo99 says
Good luck with that, VPOTUS Kamala Harris won’t even go to the border and her boss, the Delaware liar himself assigned this directly to her (passing the dirty work of it all as usual). All we get is a cackle from her about doing anything beyond an international trip to Guatemala or the Honduras after a payoff for a corrupt government elsewhere to try to keep illegals within their borders. They took the money and Kamala Harris faced a backlash for even being there. They don’t want her around either. And that in summary is the solution that is a non-solution.
Helen says
Great stories, thanks to Biden for causing all the destruction to our country. A true trader!
Concerned says
Spoken like a Trump supporter.
Steve says
Dont you have a staged Rally to go to or a street corner dont forget your pom poms “Traitor”
tim webster says
What is a county sheriff doing at an international boarder in Texas??? Did he forget what he was elected to do? Your tax dollars at work –
Please someone remind him that is job is to protect the residents of Flagler county, not try to further his political career at our expense!
MikeM says
The feds are shipping illegals to all 50 states whether you like it or not.
Why aren’t you concerned with that ? Whatever happens on the southern border will be on everyone’s doorstep sooner or later.
T says
Read what america was founded on first.
Trailer Bob says
You read. It was NOT founded on drug dealers making millions to help people breach our border. You libs will be the end of America as we know it…or used to know it. Some of us are old enough to still remember America before all the BS took over.
Ray W. says
Normally, I would expect more from MikeM and Trailer Bob, but hyperbole’ and fear seems to rule their thoughts on this issue.
Here’s how one part of the problem breaks down. Congress authorizes a certain number of immigration hearing officers and funds hearing rooms in certain locations; they are spread out all over the country. For years, one of the nation’s most active entry points was through Tijuana into San Diego. Congress funded extra customs departments in the San Diego area, created the officer positions to attempt to intercept the illegal immigrants and rented or built holding cells for detainees. When smugglers began to perceive that Tijuana was becoming more difficult, they shifted the entry locations to other areas along our long border. But Congress did not fund additional positions or authorize building additional holding cells in the newly more active locations. Texas has always had an immigration problem, but when more and more smugglers stop using Tijuana and start using various sites in Texas as the entry points, the local facilities were overwhelmed. Hence, instead of moving hearing officers to Texas and renting emergency detainee facilities, we fly detainees to locations that have available bed spaces and hearing officers. There was a time when Arizona immigration facilities were overwhelmed. We flew detainees from Arizona to other areas of the country. If Congress could react quickly enough and fund the facilities and officials in Texas where they are needed now, we wouldn’t need emergency presidential actions and administrative policies to fill the gaps, but Congress just can’t seem to get its act together.
I know this is not the best analogy, but year after year Flagler County just kept growing and growing in population. More people meant more crime, more divorces, more adoptions, more personal injury claims, more small claims actions, more business disputes, more dependency actions, and on and on. Year after year, Florida’s Supreme Court issued its annual report and certified a need for additional judges in Flagler County. Year after year, Florida’s legislature declined to fund the certified positions. For some years, Flagler’s two judges had the heaviest case loads in the state. Fortunately for Flagler County, they were both good judges and handled the extra load. Finally, Flagler County bit the bullet and built the new courthouse. Suddenly, the legislature funded additional Flagler County judges. Remember, each new judicial position prompts a need for all the related supporting positions. Extra bailiffs. Perhaps another judicial assistant. More prosecutors. More public defenders. The expense ripples through the county.
If MikeM. continues to spout poorly understood points about flying detainees about the country, he will begin to fail the giggle test and people will start to tune him out.
Trailer Bob just has a poor memory on this point. People have been claiming that America is about to end as we know it because of illegal immigration for about 140 years now. Trailer Bob is just today’s harbinger of doom. There will be thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, more Trailer Bob’s in the coming 140 years and America will somehow survive and thrive, unless the domestic terrorists are successful next time. Remember, libs were going to bring about the end of America when they pushed through the original Social Security Act in the mid-30’s. The leading conservative newspaper, the Chicago Tribune, dubbed Social Security a communist threat to America. As Notimpressed would write: Oy vey!
Bob says
Well said sheriff Staly. However the info is nothing new to any of us with open eyes and common sense. This is a DEMOCRATiC issue, as this administration are the ones who crated it. To those who feel that this is all hype or not our problem, good luck to you, continue being blind. This country is going to hell in a handbasket!
Jack Howell says
Rick,
I am intimately familiar with that area of the country as well as the drug smuggling problems. In 1988 I worked with Borer Patrol and Customs in a unique drug interdiction program between the Border Patrol, the US Marine Corps, and the US Army. Our job was to assist the Border Patrol agents in catching the drug smugglers in the Del Rio, Texas area. My Marines were teamed with Border Patrol Agents. The Rules of Engagement were clearly stated. We had to stay on the US side of the border as entry into Mexico would be deemed illegal and a violation of Posse Comitatus. What we could do was to assist the Border Patrol in the apprehension of the smugglers. And if the smugglers started to shoot at us we were allowed to return fire and neutralize the threat. The word soon spread not to get into fire fights with the Marines.
Jimbo99 says
Since Biden is paying off Foreign Governments at the sources of this crisis, stepping up border enforcement needs to continue. Those foreign governments need to enforce their borders, as does every nation in between. That still won’t guarantee illegal immigration. But the more traps, as many as possible along the way may trickle and slow the influx of illegals & drugs. I mean,a caravan crossing Mexico isn’t obvious. Gotta get tougher at every grain of sand in the desert where they get caught. Korean & Vietnam wars were about holding a parallel. This is more about maintaining a zone that starts at a parallel. Deport, deport, deport at every border and nation in between.
T says
Wheres your prove id like to see it
Lorraine says
The solution is to deport all that are here illegally! DACA included! illegal is illegal! Turn all away all at border! Stop letting anyone/everyone cross!! This is an invasion with many bringing Covid as they are unchecked! We do have laws for legal immigration on the books they need to use them!
Steve says
Put on a mask and get vaccinated. Now Covid matters because it suits your diatribe against illegals. HYPOCRITES all of you.
Lorraine says
Masks, social distancing, and good hand washing helps to fight the Covid virus transmission. But with that being said…illegals coming over the border means more people to spread the virus. That’s just math! Plus many illegals are refusing the vaccine. Vaccinated people are not immune to getting Covid or its variants or further from spreading the virus. Vaccinated people are less likely to die if they should get Covid or its varients vs people who don’t get vaccinated. I praise Rick Staley for the great job he has done for Flagler County! His point of going to the border was to see first hand the crisis vs hear-say! The illegals are being bused to states through out the United States. Allowing more people to be spreading the virus. Common sense…Close the border and deport!!
The dude says
What’s more of a problem in Flagler county this week, illegal immigrants or COVID?
Steve says
Just distracting or attempting to hide their failures as fellow citizens What a group If it pacates their latest fear porn it matters SMH
Trailer Bob says
There are multiple problems. You want to limit it to just one? Just the one YOU want to be heard? And it doesn’t matter that COVID can also be spread by way of these folks who are not vaccinated? Do you think, should they make it to Florida, they will show their ID and get vaccinated?
Pogo says
@Letters to Santa reach new level!!!
Dear Rick,
My elves tell me a Mustang can’t tow your new dream boat, and the Admiral of the Fleet dress uniform is on back order. Mrs. Santa said no to the Browning M2s; she even made me take them off of my sleigh!
I do have a tip on a nice boat that would fit your holster. It also relates to the China connection, border corruption and the most important Americano crook:
BOLO
https://www.google.com/search?d&q=bannon+arrested+on+yacht
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/who-chinese-mogul-who-owns-boat-steve-bannon-was-busted-n1237511
Regards,
Santa
He hits from both sides of the plate. He’s amphibious.
— Yogi Berra
T says
Just I won’t vote for someone next time the border been a problem for years drugs been a problem for 100 years but now lets care a bout it for republicans PR. Points this people are fleeing the dangers and killing and what america was founded to take people and to have freedom but now they are all killers and drug mules give me a break racism is most of this crap
Francis says
State of Florida has plenty of its own problems how about hospitals filling up and this new virus higher than most other states. How about cleaning up the State of Florida before all you Republicans putting your noses in others business when your dirty laundry needs cleaning up.
Why are the problems in this state being ignored like it is a perfect state when it is far from it.
Trailer Bob says
You do realize, right? That you are similar to the idiots saying the COVID crisis is made up, fake, not happening?
So now we have a group (always did) that think illegal entrance into our country is OK, no problems?, it all just fake news?
I will bet that almost all of these ridiculous comments are coming from those under the age of 35 years old. Stack 60 or 70 years under your belt and you will see things differently, from history and experience.
Mike Cocchiola says
I would not believe anything a Trump Republican says about anything. They, including Staly, will always paint the darkest of pictures of anything that Biden does, or doesn’t do. Unless their false god, Trump blesses it, it’s bad…. very bad for their alt-America.
Another One Lost says
You claim that Trump Republicans, including Staly always paint the darkest of pictures of anything Biden does or doesn’t do. Mike, when in the last 5 years did you and your Democrat friends not paint the darkest of pictures of anything that Trump did or did not do? Very Hypocritical.
Volte-Face says
And the Democrats were a beacon of truth and bipartisanship the prior four years. Neither party cares about the country, only the retention and expansion of the government’s power to be exercised by the party in control.
Lynne Hamer says
What do you expect from a trip designed for law enforcement personnel? OF COURSE, they are going to focus on the crimes and the drugs!!! Living in the Borderland and having worked with asylum seekers, I know first hand that the vast majority of these people are coming to the United States to escape violence, drugs, intimidation and coercion. Statistics indicate that these people are not the main culprits of crime in our streets, but they are hard-working families who just want a better life. Sure there are the bad guys, but what population does not have a share in that?
And, contrary to what Governor Abbott of Texas claims, these peopole are NOT causing the surges in COVID-19; his own people are doing that to themselves because, as Texans who think they are greater than any problem, they refuse to be vaccinated!
SO glad I don’t live in Florida anymore….
Steve says
And Floriduh Freedumbers are the cause of the surge here as well. You reap whatcha sow
Pierre Tristam says
There is no disputing that there is a crisis at the border, but conflating it with covid is simply sensationalistic misinformation intended to further demonize migrants. The sheriff steered clear of making the association other than the reference to those being expelled under Title 42 if, among many other reasons, they’re covid-positive. Let’s not detract from the point of the piece. This narrative is being pushed on Fox News and its types. It’s false and needs to stop, at least here (you’re free to spread your disinformation elsewhere). Currently the rate of cases per 100,000 in the US is 24 (over the past 14 days). It’s 74 in Florida–third-worst in the world, if Florida were its own country, and 83 in Flagler. In the three countries with the highest number of migrants at the border–Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador–it’s 12, 15 and 4, respectively. So if anyone is spreading the virus, it’s Americans to migrants, and if anyone is really spreading the virus, it’s Flagler residents, some of whom I’m sure are the loudest screamers here, to any migrant dumb enough to want to come to this hot spot right now. So let’s stop with the viral misinformation and stick to facts.
Another One Lost says
Covid positive illegal aliens! Great catch phrase. Personally, that is the least of my worries. As parents who lost a child to a Fentanyl overdose, my wife and I’s greatest fear is that once the Covid pandemic is behind us we will face a new one that targets our children. The flow of drugs currently pouring over our southern border is mindboggling. I won’t get into specific numbers, but the amount of Fentanyl seized so far this year at the Sothern border is enough to kill millions of people. Not to mention the tons of Methamphetamine, cocaine and counterfeit pills (laced with Fentanyl). This is just the tip of the iceberg. The amount of drugs seized is said to be only a fraction of what is getting through the thousands of miles of open border (claiming that the southern border is closed is disingenuous at best). The overdose deaths in this country will likely reach catastrophic numbers if something is not done soon. As the current administration turns a blind eye to this crisis, we risk losing an unprecedented number of our children to addiction and overdose. I commend Flagler live for not disputing that there is a crisis at the border, something that the media, the White House and most Democratic politicians (with the exception of Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas) basically refuse to acknowledge.
Shark says
I guess t-rumps beautiful wall isn’t working. Did staley go down there to get the check from Mexico!!!
David Schaefer says
DeathSantis has refused to say anything about the Covid cases in Fla yes we are number one again people. Staly I will take the money you wasted on the trip and put it to good use in Flagler Co where it belongs.
Ray W. says
In May of 1994, as a division chief in the Office of the State Attorney, I attended on my own dime the International Police Olympics, held at Circuit Paul Ricard near Toulon in southern France. At that time, Circuit Paul Ricard hosted the French Grand Prix motorcycle event; it is a very fast track, with the gravel trap at the end of the Mistral straight being several hundred yards in length in case you misjudge the entry speed into the corner.
Even though U.S. prosecuting agencies are supposed to be separate from law enforcement agencies (checks and balances being what they are), in France the prosecuting officers are employed as part of the police forces. Every two years, a different nation hosted the International Police Olympics. French authorities persuaded Honda France to donate 30 brand-new Honda CBR-600F2’s to the event, plus mechanics. 67 riders from 17 countries attended the event as racers, while another 600 or so police officers travelled to participate in the many festivities and parades, including four from the Daytona Beach Police Department. Hungarian police officers showed up riding motorcycles I had never heard of. You just haven’t lived until you have seen how much beer German police officers can drink, though everyone swore that the Australians could outdrink the Germans, only the Australian government didn’t send a team that year, perhaps because they drank too much the time before. Local officers and deputies gave me pins and badges to swap with European officers. I brought back paraphernalia from around the world to the delight of the local officers and deputies. Many stories were shared about the eccentricities of the European police departments. The French police generals had an enclosed tent set up at the race track, complete with servers wearing white coats and crystal wine glasses and what appeared to be silver cutlery. The police officers who were actually racing were not invited into that tent. Watching French Generals trying to outgeneral Italian Generals was an interesting sight.
The American team, as I recall, finished 6th out of the 17 teams in the team pursuit event. My only regret was that my wife and I could not stay an extra two days, having four young children at home. The French government arranged with the Principality of Monaco to set aside an entire grandstand for the police officers who attended the Olympic festivities to watch the Monaco Grand Prix, which was held the Sunday after the Olympic events ended (the main Olympic event was held on the national holiday celebrating the surrender of the German Army to the Free French government). The final day’s events were televised live throughout Europe on that French holiday, complete with helicopter camera crews).
The French Harley-Davidson importer donated brand new Harleys for use by the four Daytona Beach Police Department officers during the festivities. Daytona’s own Paul Carpanella, a chef and political gadfly who got himself elected mayor, persuaded the city commission to pay all expenses for the four officers. The DBPD officers even got to ride a parade lap on the actual Monaco Grand Prix course just before the F1 race.
While Americans complain about government wasting paper clips, the French took it as a matter of national pride and wasted no expense in hosting the event. Schoolchildren standing at bus stops would spot the placard in the front windshield of the buses transporting the officers from the hotel to the racetrack and wildly cheer as the buses drove by. Every day, we were interviewed by French newspaper reporters and spots during the evening television news programs were devoted to the events.
The French motorcycle police officers who escorted the buses throughout the week had to compete to win slots to provide escort duty. One officer crashed on wet streets, but refused to give up his slot, telling me he had worked hard to get it. Bandages all over, he continued to stop traffic at red lights and then race through traffic to catch up. The French entered three 5-rider teams in the event, with the Douanes (border guards) submitting one team, the national police another and the national motorcycle police the third. So many French officers crashed in practice that they blended the fastest five into one team. The rule was repeatedly explained: Crash a donated Honda and you are out of the event. A French motorcycle police officer had won the event in 1992. For winning, he was promoted to the Presidential Guard, which traveled with the French President (more a ceremonial post as the Prime Minister holds the power) around the world. The Swiss team rented the race track the weekend before the event. Canada sent a CBC crew to film the Canadian entry and produced a documentary about the event. The Italian team manager told of the Golden Flames, based in Milan. If a young motorcycle racer wanted help developing his racing career, he could join the national police force and compete for one of 20 spots on the team. If he made the team, the Italian government would pay the officer to race in either motocross, enduro, or roadracing events. The team manager bragged that he did not bring their best roadracer, Loris Capirossi, as he was competing in the 250 GP class for Honda Japan and was fourth in the world championship standings at the time (he went on to win several world titles). The French government sponsored a police team equipped by Suzuki Japan that participated in the world championship series for motorcycle endurance racing, which consisted of several 24-hour motorcycle races among other 6- and 8-hour events. Though I am sure some Europeans complain about their governments supporting motorcycle racing, Europe sure provides a completely different worldview.
One humorous side story was that I needed to correspond by fax with the French police authorities and the FIM, the international sanctioning body, prior to traveling to France. I needed to confirm that I qualified as a police officer under their rules and I needed an international racing license to participate. I spoke with Mr. Alexander, the elected State Attorney, about using the office’s fax machine, due to the time zone differences. He approved the use and I wrote a check for $25 to Volusia County’s general fund to cover any possible costs for use of the fax machine. The SAO’s chief administrative officer called me several days later. A county auditor had called about the $25 check. When told it was to cover fax machine costs, the auditor threatened me with criminal prosecution if I used the fax machine again. I went down the hall to another attorney’s office and paid him to use his fax machine. As I recall, it came to $1.92. The county cashed the $25 check. I got my international racing license and an invitation to the event. All ended well and I had a great time. Sheriff Staley may have traveled to the Texas border on his own dime, for all we know. If he didn’t, perhaps some Flagler County auditor is dreaming about filing a criminal complaint affidavit against Sheriff Staley for spending taxpayer money on interstate travel.
As another aside, I received a telephone call out of the blue from a state auditor over travel reports I had submitted for my state-issued car. He questioned the fact that I had filed reports for using the car every workday for several months, yet my monthly time sheet had time off each month. I explained that if I took an extra 15 or 20 minutes for lunch or if I went out to buy a treat for my secretaries, I wrote the time down and added up the time as vacation time each month. Apparently, I was the only person he had ever audited who did that. I told him, as a division chief, I had to hold myself to higher standard if I was going to ever hold any of my staff to any standard at all. Another time, a different auditor called to accuse me of using my car phone (yes, it was in the 90’s) to call 900 numbers for sex talk. I told him to look more closely at my travel logs, as my copies showed my car was in the county barn for a complete maintenance on the days in question and I had a loaner car. He checked and apologized. It turned out that the maintenance barn was allowing jail trustees to change oil, rotate tires, and do brake jobs. Trustees were calling 900 numbers while the car was on a lift.
PCvoter says
One aspect of the border crossing not addressed is global climate change. The coffee crop has been decimated in Central America by the weather change;the weather change that our previous president denied. Had this not happened many immigrants would have happily stayed home.
Mr Giggles says
This trip sounds about as important to a small time backwoods county Sheriff as a trip to the UAE. Oh wait, that happened too didn’t it!
flatsflyer says
Hold on to your wallets, Rick is eyeing a dozen new boats to fill out his armada. He knows they are built in Florida, so can justify “Buy America. 50 calper machine guns and1,050 horse power outboards will help control the reckless boaters on our canals and the ICW.
Black Pepper says
For real?? .50 caliber on the boats…..why? Is he expecting an invasion. Ya know they don’t sit out and monitor our traffic (I have a Tesla everyone wants to race the Tesla). What will it be like when the police are all out shooting gators or whatever on new boats?
You are kidding right?
David S. says
Along with his 45k ford mustangs…..
John Yankovich says
Good article. But it’s just more of the same since Jan 20th. If you don’t acknowledge the problem there is no problem! So the border crises continues! As for the myth of a broken immigration policy SHOW ME! I’ve met immigrant turned citizens who have gone thru the process so it works. Give me specific areas where it is “broken”! John Yankovich
PCvoter says
One example of a broken immigration policy is grabbing infants and children out of the arms of their parents and then loosing track of them.
Garland says
At One Point in My Life I use to be In Enforcement That did not make me Above the Law Though , And What I cannot Understand is Why Do we Have a Local Florida County Sheriff All the Way out in Hidalgo County Texas way Out Of Jurisdiction ???
I am Sure The BORDER PATROL , and US MARSHAL’S have a Complete grip on Things there This is There Area Along With FBI assistance if Needed , and They Do a Really Good Job at it In my opinion . A Sheriff that is Elected to Flagler County Florida Needs to Stay here , and Focus on Flagler County Protect & Serve What You got Voted in To Do . As I agree with Some threads above to which I have read . Good Evening
Sheila Zinkerman says
America has failed the due process for our immigrants. Fix it. Things should improve. Some due process history from 2020 and 2014 and how to fix it:
https://www.aila.org/advo-media/aila-policy-briefs/aila-calls-for-independent-immigration-courts
https://www.c-span.org/video/?321164-1/discussion-us-immigration-courts