A Texas judge said on Monday that her own community on the U.S.-Mexico border could be crippled by any changes to the state's Senate Bill 4, a law that allows Texas officials to make their own arrests, detainments, and deportations but has been put on hold as a court case challenging it proceeds.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans last week denied a request from Texas to allow the legislation to go into effect while a federal court case concerning the law continues. The court will hear arguments in the case on Wednesday, ABC affiliate WFAA in Dallas reports.
Terrell County Judge Dale Carruthers, who presides over the population of 760 along the Rio Grande River and supports SB 4, told Scripps News on Monday that her county is "financially strapped. Anything else that would be an unfunded mandate could cripple this county."
Terrell County Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland told Newsweek on Monday, "I support S.B. 4 and believe as we have seen an ever-increasing effort to secure our borders, we will need to focus on a whole of government approach through state, local, and federal resources."
Cleveland added: "We will, however, have a few things we need to figure out before we begin apprehending and charging illegals under SB 4. Funding and resources are the two biggest constraints for my office. The two closest ports of entry are Del Rio and Presidio, which are 120 and 170 miles away. Transporting people to either location will take a deputy out of my county for almost an entire shift."