Republican Women Talk Border Control
By: Sarah Hurwitz
Updated: July 23, 2012
AMARILLO -- That announcement comes from congressman Mac Thornberry's office.
Thornberry met with U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials yesterday afternoon to voice his concerns.
Offices in Amarillo, Lubbock and San Angelo are among nine across the country on the chopping block.
And today Randall County sheriff Joel Richardson announced he's taking action to make sure the closures are halted permanently.
Richardson spoke with the Amarillo Republican Women's group Thursday. The women definitely had their opinions.
"I think that if we don't keep our country or state with legals then there's going to be not only a financial burden but a safety burden as well," Amarillo Republican Women member, Beverly Harris said.
They met Thursday for their monthly meeting to talk about a timely topic.
"To take two agents from a twenty six county area and put them on that expansive big border, I don't know how much difference that's going to make," Richardson said.
Richardson talked about the importance of keeping the Amarillo border patrol station from closing.
"The smuggling of humans takes place everyday on our highways and frmo time to time they stop a van, bus or a truck or RV that is loaded with undocumented foreign nationals," Richardson said.
Richardson believes having no border patrol agents in the Panhandle would be a problem because police don't have the authority to arrest illegal immigrants.
"But what do we do with the twelve to twenty undocumented forein nationals that are in that vehicle? We call the border patrol today," Richardson said.
The Amarillo Republican Women are a close knit group.
And they are known for their involvement in politics.
"We lose a lot of our freedom if we aren't involved because we let things happened because we're apathetic," Harris said.
The Obama Administration wants to close those border patrol stations to send more agents to the border.
Administration officials say arrests of illegal immigrants crossing the border are at their lowest levels in decades.
The White House also says closing those Texas stations, plus three others in other parts of the country, will save 1.3 million dollars a year.
Thornberry met with U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials yesterday afternoon to voice his concerns.
Offices in Amarillo, Lubbock and San Angelo are among nine across the country on the chopping block.
And today Randall County sheriff Joel Richardson announced he's taking action to make sure the closures are halted permanently.
Richardson spoke with the Amarillo Republican Women's group Thursday. The women definitely had their opinions.
"I think that if we don't keep our country or state with legals then there's going to be not only a financial burden but a safety burden as well," Amarillo Republican Women member, Beverly Harris said.
They met Thursday for their monthly meeting to talk about a timely topic.
"To take two agents from a twenty six county area and put them on that expansive big border, I don't know how much difference that's going to make," Richardson said.
Richardson talked about the importance of keeping the Amarillo border patrol station from closing.
"The smuggling of humans takes place everyday on our highways and frmo time to time they stop a van, bus or a truck or RV that is loaded with undocumented foreign nationals," Richardson said.
Richardson believes having no border patrol agents in the Panhandle would be a problem because police don't have the authority to arrest illegal immigrants.
"But what do we do with the twelve to twenty undocumented forein nationals that are in that vehicle? We call the border patrol today," Richardson said.
The Amarillo Republican Women are a close knit group.
And they are known for their involvement in politics.
"We lose a lot of our freedom if we aren't involved because we let things happened because we're apathetic," Harris said.
The Obama Administration wants to close those border patrol stations to send more agents to the border.
Administration officials say arrests of illegal immigrants crossing the border are at their lowest levels in decades.
The White House also says closing those Texas stations, plus three others in other parts of the country, will save 1.3 million dollars a year.
