ALAMOGORDO, N.M. (AP) - A southern New Mexico county has demanded that Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham use the National Guard to re-open Customs and Border Patrol checkpoints that were closed last month.
Otero County on Wednesday declared a state of emergency, noting the need for open checkpoints to stop drugs and illegal activity at the border, the Alamogordo Daily News reported .
Checkpoints in the area shut down last month, as agents were pulled to help process an influx of migrants claiming asylum at the border.
Otero County Commission Chairman Couy Griffin said if the county’s demand is not met in one week’s time, it will provide its own security for the checkpoints. Griffin also threatened taking legal action against the state.
“Otero County will also consider litigation in regards to the State of New Mexico failing to follow its constitutional duties towards the people of Otero County,” he said.
Governor’s office spokesman Tripp Stelnicki said the National Guard “does not and would not operate federal checkpoints.”
“If Otero County officials are unhappy that a federal checkpoint has been un-manned, so to speak, their concerns would have the best chance of being addressed if registered with the federal agency that made the decision to shift that personnel elsewhere,” Stelnicki said.
“At the same time, Otero County is absolutely free to reach out to the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management for whatever assistance they feel they need, which as of today had not occurred,” he said.
The permanent highway checkpoints are part of the Border Patrol’s immigration and smuggling enforcement system in the border region.
Grisham announced in February that she withdrew the 118 remaining National Guard troops from New Mexico’s border with Mexico, denying President Donald Trump’s contention that a crisis was ongoing at the border.
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Information from: Alamogordo Daily News, http://www.alamogordonews.com
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