News
Local authorities hopeful after border summit
Jonathon Shacat /Wick Communications
Law enforcement officials in Cochise County who participated in a border violence summit in Tucson said representatives from federal agencies seemed receptive to their ideas and they are hopeful it will result in change.
Tuesday's meeting, organized by U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., was attended by more than 60 representatives from federal, state, county and municipal agencies.
Several law enforcement officials in Cochise County who were in attendance were interviewed by the Herald/Review by phone on Wednesday.
Douglas Police Chief Alberto Melis said it was nice to hear from officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as Border Patrol, but it was more important for those officials to listen to the problems that local law enforcers are experiencing.
"All too often throughout the United States they are having border meetings with people that are not involved in the border," he said. "And I think it is important to talk to us. We may not have the problems with undocumented immigration that some places are having because we live here but if there is any violent spillover or if there is any problem, it is going to be us first."
Melis said he would like to see more flexibility for the use of funding from the Stonegarden program, which provides federal money to local jurisdictions for border enforcement.
"It is hard for us sometimes to work with restrictions that have been placed 2,000 miles away. I think Border Patrol and ICE officials, who control some of the purse strings, were very receptive to some of our ideas," he added.
Bisbee Police Chief Jim Elkins said local law enforcement officials tried to make sure the federal officials won't forget about them.
"It seems like oftentimes they talk about things and it doesn't get much past the Tucson area. We just wanted to reinforce that we are down here and we do need the specialized funding," he said.
For example, Elkins pointed out, funding from Stonegarden is helpful, but he is concerned because getting that money has become competitive. Also, he said, he recently applied for a grant from the COPS Hiring Recovery Program and he hopes to receive it.
Cochise County Attorney Ed Rheinheimer said he was pleased to hear Diane Humetewa, the U.S. attorney for the District of Arizona, announce that staffing in her office has increased, and so marijuana cases below the 500-pound threshold are now prosecuted.
From 1989 to 2003, the Cochise County Attorney's Office prosecuted federal referral drug cases.
But a decision was made for the county to stop prosecuting some of those cases due to limited resources and the considerable associated expenses.
Since late 2003, the county has prosecuted the federal referral cases in which there is a direct impact on the county.
Otherwise, cases involving less than 500 pounds of marijuana have not been prosecuted. However, the county prosecutes any federal cases involving quantities of methamphetamine or cocaine, whether or not there is any direct impact on the county.
Rheinheimer said the meeting was a unique opportunity for local officials to advise federal officials about the realities along the border. He is "cautiously optimistic" about what will transpire.
"We have seen the pattern before. The pattern is that some issue arises at the border, and while the issue is making front page news, the federal government pays attention to it for a short period of time. Then the issue moves to a back burner and the federal government moves on and pays attention to the next issue that is making the front page," he said. "Right now, the issue happens to be border violence."
Rheinheimer is "optimistic" because he heard Humetewa say her office has eliminated the 500-pound threshold amounts that were previously required for prosecutions.
But he referred to a recent incident in which Border Patrol agents at a checkpoint in Whetstone came across a load of 240 pounds of marijuana and they couldn't find a local agency to prosecute the case, so Sierra Vista police officers were contacted and responded to investigate it.
As a result, he said, he will remain "cautious" until he can actually see Humetewa's efforts in action to know they are working.
Sierra Vista Police Chief Ken Kimmel attended the summit but declined an interview request from the Herald/Review because he was too busy on Wednesday.
Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever, who was unable to attend, said he met with Giffords while he was in Washington on March 31, and they discussed border issues.
(Jonathon Shacat is a reporter at the Sierra Vista Herald/Bisbee Daily Review.)
Law enforcement officials in Cochise County who participated in a border violence summit in Tucson said representatives from federal agencies seemed receptive to their ideas and they are hopeful it will result in change.
Tuesday's meeting, organized by U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., was attended by more than 60 representatives from federal, state, county and municipal agencies.
Several law enforcement officials in Cochise County who were in attendance were interviewed by the Herald/Review by phone on Wednesday.
Douglas Police Chief Alberto Melis said it was nice to hear from officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as Border Patrol, but it was more important for those officials to listen to the problems that local law enforcers are experiencing.
"All too often throughout the United States they are having border meetings with people that are not involved in the border," he said. "And I think it is important to talk to us. We may not have the problems with undocumented immigration that some places are having because we live here but if there is any violent spillover or if there is any problem, it is going to be us first."
Melis said he would like to see more flexibility for the use of funding from the Stonegarden program, which provides federal money to local jurisdictions for border enforcement.
"It is hard for us sometimes to work with restrictions that have been placed 2,000 miles away. I think Border Patrol and ICE officials, who control some of the purse strings, were very receptive to some of our ideas," he added.
Bisbee Police Chief Jim Elkins said local law enforcement officials tried to make sure the federal officials won't forget about them.
"It seems like oftentimes they talk about things and it doesn't get much past the Tucson area. We just wanted to reinforce that we are down here and we do need the specialized funding," he said.
For example, Elkins pointed out, funding from Stonegarden is helpful, but he is concerned because getting that money has become competitive. Also, he said, he recently applied for a grant from the COPS Hiring Recovery Program and he hopes to receive it.
Cochise County Attorney Ed Rheinheimer said he was pleased to hear Diane Humetewa, the U.S. attorney for the District of Arizona, announce that staffing in her office has increased, and so marijuana cases below the 500-pound threshold are now prosecuted.
From 1989 to 2003, the Cochise County Attorney's Office prosecuted federal referral drug cases.
But a decision was made for the county to stop prosecuting some of those cases due to limited resources and the considerable associated expenses.
Since late 2003, the county has prosecuted the federal referral cases in which there is a direct impact on the county.
Otherwise, cases involving less than 500 pounds of marijuana have not been prosecuted. However, the county prosecutes any federal cases involving quantities of methamphetamine or cocaine, whether or not there is any direct impact on the county.
Rheinheimer said the meeting was a unique opportunity for local officials to advise federal officials about the realities along the border. He is "cautiously optimistic" about what will transpire.
"We have seen the pattern before. The pattern is that some issue arises at the border, and while the issue is making front page news, the federal government pays attention to it for a short period of time. Then the issue moves to a back burner and the federal government moves on and pays attention to the next issue that is making the front page," he said. "Right now, the issue happens to be border violence."
Rheinheimer is "optimistic" because he heard Humetewa say her office has eliminated the 500-pound threshold amounts that were previously required for prosecutions.
But he referred to a recent incident in which Border Patrol agents at a checkpoint in Whetstone came across a load of 240 pounds of marijuana and they couldn't find a local agency to prosecute the case, so Sierra Vista police officers were contacted and responded to investigate it.
As a result, he said, he will remain "cautious" until he can actually see Humetewa's efforts in action to know they are working.
Sierra Vista Police Chief Ken Kimmel attended the summit but declined an interview request from the Herald/Review because he was too busy on Wednesday.
Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever, who was unable to attend, said he met with Giffords while he was in Washington on March 31, and they discussed border issues.
(Jonathon Shacat is a reporter at the Sierra Vista Herald/Bisbee Daily Review.)
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