A greater presence of Texas Department of Public Safety troopers is arriving in Starr County for the next 60 days, according to county officials.
More troopers were seen along the Western side of the Rio Grande Valley since Thursday, according to Starr County Judge Eloy Vera.
The changes follow a statement shared on social media by the governor on Sunday where he said he would be deploying more resources to address an increase in human smuggling.
Starr County Judge Eloy Vera said he welcomes the help, but only to a point.
“If they’re here to curtail human trafficking, or people coming across the border, stuff like that, certainly that’s welcome,” he said.
More adults, families and children are crossing into the U.S., overwhelming holding capacity at U.S. Border Patrol facilities and prompting longer processing times and more releases of migrants into the country.
However, Vera worries about the effects on local residents. “They need to be a little lenient as far as the minor infractions of our local people,” the judge said, referring to the last time the county saw an increase in state law enforcement officers.
“It got to the point that people wouldn’t go to stores or wouldn’t buy. Our economy went from bad to worse. That’s the only thing that I hope doesn’t happen,” Vera said.
A statement from DPS was requested and is pending.
