New agreement with border patrol to keep border communities safer
By Alyssa Munoz
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LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KOAT) — More than 137,000 migrants were stopped between ports of entry along the El Paso border with Mexico last month.
The district attorney for Dona Ana County, Gerald Byers, has made an agreement with border control to help control some of the issues.
The agreement is focused on providing safety and security for border communities by allowing more prosecution efforts.
One of the hotspots, Mount Cristo Rey, is an honored monument to the community.
“Mount Cristo Rey has a history here. It was built by El Pasoans, so a lot of people have made their pilgrimages,” said Ruben Escandon Jr, a spokesperson for the Mount Cristo Rey restoration committee.
Within the past few years, he said this is also a place migrants try to cross through.
“Even years ago, when we had smaller groups that would go, we would escort a church group of maybe 60 70 people and there would be 90 t0 100 people come down,” Escandon said.
Crime is another problem. Escandon said this is why he recommends people planning to go should go during organized events or in a group.
“When people are isolated up there, there was a lot of robberies going on, lot of events that would happen,” Escandon said.
DA Byers hopes to help with the new agreement between him and the U.S. border patrol.
“Border patrol reached out to us. They had some concerns about the safety of people in the community in southern Dona Ana County as well as the safety of their agents,” Byers said.
The conversation led them to this agreement, aiming to properly apply state charges for criminal activity encountered by border agents. The agreement’s focus is on public safety, not immigration.
“If the message is brought to those folks who would attempt to cross illegally, that Dona Ana County is not the place to do that because of safety hazards to themselves and prosecution because it violates public safety, then that is more incentive for people to go through the port of entry,” Byers said.
Byers added that border cities such as Sunland Park, Santa Teresa and Anapra are communities that have had the heaviest trafficking and undocumented immigrants crossing in the Southwest.
Some of the crimes they are looking into are breaking and entering, harboring a felon, extortion, human trafficking and other serious violent offenses.
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