Print 🖨

The Senate Committee on Border Security met on April 5 to hear reports from the Texas Military Department, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the Office of the Attorney General, the Office of Court Administration, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, and the Department of State Health Services. Committee members discussed border security challenges, operational challenges and budget allocation with the different departments. A link to the hearing can be found here.

 

This report is intended to give you an overview and highlight of the discussions on the various topics taken up. It is not a verbatim transcript of the discussions but is based upon what was audible or understandable to the observer and the desire to get details out as quickly as possible with few errors or omissions.

 

Thomas Suelzer, Adjutant General of the Texas Military Department

Anthony Woods, Acting Commanding General Texas State Guard

Monie R. Ulis, Dep. Adjutant General of Texas Army Guard

Michelle Thompson, Senior Enlisted Advisor of Texas Army Guard

  • Ulis – Highlights actions of Operation Lone Star; placing concertina wire, 28 boats to provide service, paralegal support for soldiers, elite brush teams to locate migrants
  • Woods – Border Star is more analytical, and statistics driven where Lone Star is more physical; 25 people whose main job is to install cameras
  • Birdwell – Does the military department have its own terrain or is attached to DPS?
    • Ulis – Work with DPS and assign our positions based on migrant crossing historical data; responsible for providing logistics
    • Woods – Work for DPS to maintain administrative action and promotions
  • Birdwell – What is the life support like for the soldier opposed to the DPS officer; how are base camps operated and are there security threats?
    • Ulis- 6 base camps on the border in areas where there are no hotels; recreational areas, video games, PA facilities, meals are provided, and base camps are going from trailers to 4-man bedroom rooms
    • Quality of life has come a long way; behavioral health, PA medics, chaplains and internet access
  • Birdwell – How are you securing internet from enemies?
    • Ulis – Internet is for soldiers leisure and school; different server for military operations
  • Birdwell – Is state guard operating in own territory?
    • Wood – We are not independent and work with Operation Lone Star often; provide chaplain support, legal support
    • Thompson – Mayor cells are run by state guard; working on fencing teams
  • Birdwell – Received contact saying soldiers are not being paid; where are we at now
    • Ulis – After Harvey we purchased a pay system to last a short duration; input was from home unit making it easier to track payment
    • Operation Lone Star has made this a long-term issue; there were challenges in the beginning because it takes time to learn the software
    • 91% accuracy in pay now; conducted audits to review old payments and ensure soldiers were/are being paid
  • Birdwell – National guards assets are receiving hazard pay but not the State guard?
    • Suelzer – Army and Air guard get basic allowance for housing and daily allowance of $59 per day; BAH is provided regardless of housing status
    • Hardship duty pay which is $500 paid quarterly, $225 quarterly for imminent danger on the border and state guard receives an extra $25 a day
  • Hinojosa – What is the mission on the border?
    • Ulis – Mission to support DPS, detect and apprehends transnationals criminals and illegal migrants
    • Authority to arrest on the breaking of state laws based on Governor Abbott’s order in July of this year
  • Hinojosa – I read there are 7,000 migrants crossing the border a day; is this in Texas or all the way to California
    • Suelzer – This is the DHS number; this is all the way to California
  • Hinojosa – How many troops on the border?
    • Ulis – 6,383 troops; 10,000 troops in support of the border including logistics
  • Hinojosa – How is morale on the border?
    • Ulis- Better internet and the building of camps instead of trailers is increasing morale
  • Hinojosa – What impact will title 42 have on your mission?
    • Ulis – There is an estimate of 1.7 million individuals with the intention to cross; higher patrol demands on the border
  • Hinojosa – I see an increase of migrants; how long are the tours for the soldiers on the water
    • Ulis – Tours are currently 365 days
  • Hinojosa – Worry about morale; pulled out from civilian life with a long tour for a national guard
  • Hinojosa – How much more money will you need to stay on the border for another year?
    • Suelzer – $531 million to make it to remainder of this fiscal year; looking at ways to lower this cost
  • Hinojosa – Can do the same job with a lot less troops; do not understand 10,000 national guard for border security
  • What does a national guard solider do on a normal day?
    • 9-10-hour days/6 days a week; 4-day pass a month to go home
    • Ulis – The placement of soldiers on the border is a deterrent for crossing; there are times where there is low activity
  • Hinojosa – Are there national guards on private ranches?
    • Ulis – This is a bush guard operation set up by DPS; exist in rough terrains away from the highway
    • Responsibility of DPS to work with landowners
  • Hinojosa – Do not want national guard to do work on private property; this is the work of private ranch security
  • Are you having issues with soldiers wanting to retire or not wanting to re-enlist?
    • Ulis – 58% retention rate for national guard and have provided additional career counselors to work on issues in the guard; air guard has retention of 98%
  • Hinojosa – Support the guard but think money and time can be better spent
  • Hall – Heard payment issues were due to software; has this been fixed?
    • Ulis – Have developed a tool to find pay discrepancies before submitted for payroll
    • Suelzer – Current system PIMS must be fixed through them; want a large-scale long-term solution with pilot programs starting in May
  • Hall – Hearing stories about suicide; was this an early incident of coincidental suicides?
    • Suelzer – Become a public health crisis; army national guard is below the DOD rate, but it continues to be an issue
    • We have implemented behavioral health specialists and need leaders that know their troops
    • Thompson – There was an instance where a soldier posted something on social media, and we were able to locate him before anything happened
  • Hinojosa – How many arrests have you all made
    • 15,000 turn backs, and 123,000 arrests
  • Birdwell – How many total soldiers; how many of each category
    • 6,300-6,500 total; 650 air guard, 278 national guard, the remainder is army guard
  • Birdwell – What discretion do you have to change hardship requests
    • Ulis- Review each case and approve 78% of hardship cases are approved; saw an increase in nurse leave with COVID
  • Birdwell – Drug intervention is our biggest return on investment; is that a DPS function
    • Ulis- We are enforcers of DPS drug plans; each soldier can adequately defend and protect themselves
    • Wood – Chaplin is the one person did not assign a weapon on state guard
  • Hinojosa – Can you restate retention rates for missions?
    • Ulis- Individuals who have passed their one-year mark 91% choose to stay on the mission
  • Birdwell – Is there a contractual obligation for state guards?
    • Wood – There is no TMCJ on individuals; no equipment is issued so there is no recovery of equipment, and they can leave when they decide
    • Unique challenge because there are no pay incentives
  • Birdwell – How does National Guard and State Guard communicative?
    • Wood – On the border the national guard issues equipment
  • Birdwell – Want to ensure committee that leadership goes above and beyond to accommodate soldiers; just can’t choose their deployment
  • Thompson – Soldiers are most important resources; many are uncomfortable when deployed in Afghanistan, but some do not understand why they are uncomfortable in their own state
  • Birdwell – Set up this panel to show Texans how these services intertwine with one another
    • Ulis – All my requirements have been met; level of issues and complains are being resolved
  • Suelzer – As the new TAG top priority is raising education benefits for soldiers; education benefits have been cut by 48%
  • Important to invest in these soldiers and invest in their education
  • Birdwell – We do not appropriate budget, but I will share this date with senior Huffman as she is the new chair of finance
  • Hinojosa – Tuition befits are important and will be restored; decreased from 3 million to 1.4 million due to the 5% decrease to all the budget

 

Bentley Nettles, Executive Director of Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission

Vanessa Mayo, CFO of Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission

Xavier Casares, Director of Training at Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission

  • Nettles – 4th largest state police force; in charge of stopping the TABC regulated store fronts that conduct illegal business and human traffic
  • Conducted 16,000 investigations since 2016; 38% of all human trafficking investigations
  • Birdwell – On appropriation for 22-23 it shows special investigations and border security – were those separate lines? The money you must operate statewide is a separate entry item than budget appropriation; what is the difference?
    • Casares – Special investigations targets organized criminal activity and human trafficking
    • Our enforcement unit is bifurcated Agencies to relives them of constraint
  • Nettles- Have to focus on putting the bad guys in jail; collaborating with DA’s, police and other law enforcement
  • Birdwell – Is the money we supply all going to personnel budget?
    • Casares – 80% is salaries
  • Hinojosa – TABC regulate liquor license which means access to saloons and clubs; many times, these clubs involve prostitution, money laundering and overdose
    • Casares – This is our border security mission; we are focusing on more than just the border for example Houston which is a hub for human trafficking
  • Hinojosa – You have licensing agents who find suspicious activity and then they send undercover agents; is this how it operates?
    • Casares – Investigations are long-term; have added 6 FTE’s to go under cover
  • Mayo – Original request for $1.2 million and 6 FTE’s to fund a border supplement unit at TABC; Now we have allocated $5.6 million in existing funding to border security funding
  • Birdwell – How does allocation and placement of officers get decided?
    • Nettles – Have 200 agents who go where necessary
    • Casares – We have surged before in situations of emergency but not in normal situations
  • Hinojosa – Sounds like there is not enough special agents to manage on the border
    • Nettles – We have also started an online training for undercover police officers that tailor style and behavior to the local atmosphere
  • Casares – When going straight inside 1% of the time violations are found; undercover police officers find violations 26% of the time
  • Training beer drivers to look out for cots, paraphernalia and secret rooms; these people are deemed trustworthy by traffickers or cartels
  • Hall – Human trafficking is hiding in plain sight not just on the border or in the bars; How could this be made more efficient?
    • Nettles – Our communication division has done a great job creating videos and public announcements to raise awareness
    • Houston is the #1 hub for human trafficking in the country; happens regardless of gender and race all children are vulnerable
  • Hinojosa – Have you all received Operation Lone Star funding; it seems you transferred some funds to the National guard?
    • Nettles – Yes, sir
  • Mayo – We did not directly transfer funds to Operation Lone Star; We swapped our CRF federal fund from $45 million to $41 million
  • Hinojosa – You experienced a 5% reduction; There was no transfer of TABC funds
    • Mayo – No transfers
  • Birdwell – The operation fund will require more funding next appropriations just to keep operations going as they are with the removal of Federal funding; is this correct
    • Mayo – yes; removal of CFE created a burden
  • Nettles – We have more work than we had 10 years ago but less funding and manpower
  • Casares – Committee requires us to investigate every complaint we receive; we now have to triage these claims by phone because we do not have the manpower
  • Hall – Is this putting you in a box and wasting your time?
    • Casares – Yes; do not think this is as successful as intended

 

Josh Reno, Deputy Attorney General of Criminal Justice on behalf of Ken Paxton

  • Birdwell – What is the difference between your border prosecution and the Governor’s actions?
    • Reno – We have no been given any direct appropriations for border security; we were asked to report our findings starting in 2016
  • Birdwell – $2.6 million for prosecutions and investigations; does this not fall underneath border security?
    • Reno – Would ask LBB
  • Katie Fallon LBB – $ 2.6 million does not say for border security; we normally file reports to tag dollars, but we have not completed this yet
  • Birdwell – Is this a deficiency?
    • Fallon – The office is just running a few weeks late, but this is not a deficiency
  • Hinojosa – It is important for us to know how much we are directly appropriating so we can adjust it as fit; it sounds like your office decides how they want to appropriate
    • Fallon – LBB has an understanding of how much is appropriated; based on what we have seen in the past
  • Hinojosa – What happens to the money they do not use; is it given back to us to reappropriate
    • Fallon – Depends on the agency; could go to different counties
  • Birdwell – Committee wants to be good stewards to taxpayers; want to ensure there is no overlap on supporting efforts
  • What strategies are used to provide border security?
    • Reno – We provide legal services to all state agencies, and we also provide prosecution to border counties
  • Birdwell – Challenge when there is so many organizations involved in border patrol or human trafficking; there could be a duplication or triplication of numbers because each organization is not reporting which can affect legislature allocation
    • Reno – In regard to human trafficking, our office reports billable hours specific to this issue
  • Birdwell – It sounds like we are giving the AG a retainer of billable hours; it is hard to manage success or progress this way
    • Reno – You have given us duties based the allocated money; for example, we have given border security $3.7 million in legal services even though we were provided $2.6 million
  • Birdwell – If you do not receive the money how many people get removed from the office?
    • Reno – Quite a few
  • Birdwell – I would like to see a breakdown of how the $2.6 million is used
    • Reno – I would be happy to get this to you

 

Megan Lavoy, Administrative Director of Office of Court Administration

Jeff Burkhart, Executive Director of Texas Indigent Defense Commission

  • Lavoy – Provided documents requested by committee last time; I can outline our budget
  • $28.9 million allocated for Indigent Defense; TIDC has 2 staff allocated to Operation Lone Star
  • Birdwell – I only have LBB document from large budget; would like to see the sub budgets
  • Stated you allocated funds to visiting judges; how many central judicial areas are being looked at
    • Lavoy – 3 administrative judicial regions
  • Lavoy – Visiting judges are assigned by presiding judges; required because of backlog of cases
  • Birdwell – I assume indigent defense covers Operation Lone Star
    • Lavoy – Misdemeanors for criminal trespassing mostly with occasional drug charges
  • Hinojosa – Past issues with the way you register people; is there an issue with assigning indigent council
    • Burkhart – Administration process goes well; 2 centers in Del Rio and Vel Verde
    • Magistration determines probable cause, setting initial bond, and determining council
  • Hinojosa – If you are an undocumented immigrant, you do not get a bond
    • Lavoy – Bonds are being set; average bond is $3,500
  • Burkhart – Some of these small counties on the border do not have the legal staff to support the large influx in case load; we allocate 2 private attorneys for Operation Lone Star needs
  • Hinojosa – More focused on the judicial process once they are in custody with TDCJ, you are not involved with those directly?
    • Burkhart – Not directly
    • Lavoy – We do have a court consultant in contact with Kenny County, County has put in place measures to get cases moving, backlog is improving
  • Hinojosa – Have different judges, different attorneys beyond Kenny County; not criticizing, trying to identify the issues, highlights court that has a coordinator to assist with cases
    • Burkhart – Quality is also a focus, found that public defenders are operating well, but may have cases in Dallas, Bexar, etc. that conflict; access issue is primary
  • Hinojosa – What is the status on the criminal trespass cases/habeas corpus issue?
    • Lavoy – Filed two weeks ago, can get an update
  • Hinojosa – Based on cases that are significantly delayed
  • Hall – You are assigning public defenders at the initial arraignment?
    • Assigning them at first contact
  • Hall – Unique to this operation, standard across the state?
    • Varies county to county, some counties have attorneys present at magistration, sometimes transferred to judges who then appoint counsel
  • Hall – Funded through Lone Star?
    • Funded through Texas Indignant Defenders
  • Hall – How is this monitored, how do you tell if hours are expended to actually help the client?
    • With public defenders, the only work they do is with these clients, due to case need they are working full time
    • Private assigned cases work a little bit differently, required to track time hourly and submit vouchers and tracked
    • Fee rate is currently $75/hour, standard across Texas, for Class A misdemeanor typically around 8 hours of work
  • Hall – Incident with Lubbock Private Defender Office where they were encouraging defendants to plead guilty
    • Issue with one attorney at the office, case currently before the Bar; attorney is no longer working on Operation Lone Star & planning to retire soon
  • Hall – Isolated incident?
    • Correct, have not heard any other allegations
  • Birdwell – Magistration is different from administration, what is the different?
    • Names are used differently by different states
    • In TX, magistration is very first appearance before a judge
  • Birdwell – If crime occurs in a county without a magistration center & they are brought before the magistration center, then bond out, are they immediately released? Does federal border patrol step in? If they are returned to confinement, are they returned to county of original jurisdiction, placed in TDCJ facility?
    • Lavoy – If they are assigned before release, they are assigned counsel; if they bond out, they are returned to county here crime occurred and released there
  • Birdwell – So if someone bonds at original magistration there can be a delay in release?
    • They are released then, if they make bond at processing facility they are released then
  • Birdwell – How many of the 1k+ magistrations n the previous report made bond?
    • Have had 3.5k cases total since program started, 2,145 individual made bond
  • Birdwell – How many returned for arraignment?
    • Can get this number, counties have these numbers
  • Birdwell – Doing the right thing magisterially, but wondering how many make trial
    • Have not been any trials
  • Birdwell – Is this because no one has come back or because trials have not started in the 6-month window
    • Burkhart – Can get this; often by the time ICE is contacted then individuals are already deported
  • Birdwell – How can they be deported if they have not been arraigned?
    • Federal deportation process happens independently of state criminal proceedings
  • Birdwell – Do not want to hold Texas Indigent Defense Commission responsible for actions of the federal gov
  • Hinojosa – When someone has been arrested and is not legally within the country & they are in a county jail, often judges will refuse to provide bond; if bond is available, border patrol tends to show up and deport them
  • Hinojosa – For Operation Lone Star, immigrants are released to border patrol; do you get a report back those defendants are deported?
    • Lavoy – Have not seen reports back, courts are trying to work with individuals or attorneys
  • Hinojosa – When you release a person on bond, they are not just released to the community
    • Burkhart – Correct, generally handed over to ICE
  • Hinojosa – We just do not have numbers on the whereabouts of those bonded out?
    • Lavoy – Will need to contact courts for appearance rate stats
    • Burkhart – Large number are in Briscoe & Segovia awaiting trial
    • Generally, if bond is set, they are handed over to ICE generally
  • Birdwell – What is the number of those that do not make bond and await arraignment at TDCJ?
    • Lavoy – TDCJ would have those numbers
  • Birdwell – How many cases have you tracked to culmination of conviction? Have you seen any cases culminate in a misdemeanor or felony sentence?
    • For Kenny County, have 816 that have posted bond, 191 have entered plea agreements, 102 cases disposed by the court
    • For Jim Hogg, 119 cases filed, 25 dispositions, 23 pleas, 2 dismissals
    • Maverick, 28 cases filed, first arraignment docket was today
  • Birdwell – So a profound step down from magistration to arraignment
    • Will get appearance rates for Committee to look at
  • Birdwell – Arraignment is county of the crime?
    • Yes
  • Bridwell – Will you have to take this on as well if you get an inordinate number of arraignments?
    • No statutory or constitutional authority for Supreme Court to do that
    • Believe current funding on admin side will last through December of this year
    • Burkhart – For Texas Indigent Defense Commission, doing fine funding wise; arrests have been lower than anticipated

 

Bryan Collier Texas Department of Criminal Justice

Ron Steffa, CFO Texas Department of Criminal Justice

  • Collier – $1.6m in budget that goes to Inspector General/LEO oversight function, used for Texas Anti-Gang centers and border security intelligence
  • HB 9 funded TDCJ at >$250m for Operation Lone Star, covered some previous transfers out of TDCJ, also $23.7m for operating 3 facilities to be used as jails for Lone Star, incl. Briscoe, Segovia, and Lopez; Lopez is available if arrest volume grows
  • Birdwell – Were these units that we had mothballed?
    • Collier – Actually those were occupied, have had significant decrease in population over last two years
    • Re-engaged mothballed unit in Henderson to ensure detainees could be transferred out of Segovia
  • Birdwell and Collier discuss staffing requirements at TDCJ, medical facilities due to TCJS oversight
  • Birdwell – Because you are handling mostly misdemeanors, Commission on Jail Standards has oversight? Normally not your charge?
    • Correct
  • Birdwell – Were there things that were an encumbrance to you that should not be?
    • Mostly has been minor adjustments like staffing ratios, achievable and was not a big impediment
  • Birdwell – As we look at ripple and what we anticipate with Title 42 going away, do you expect a greater need as people are adjudicated?
    • No, essentially operating for County or Sheriff to house their detainees
  • Birdwell – If Operation Lone Star pares down, would you lose the additional FTEs from the TCJS need? Not creating staffing problems?
    • No
  • Hinojosa – Essentially your mission is holding these migrants until they get a hearing, in Segovia you have tech for them to communicate with families and legal aid?
    • Yes
    • Have a program that operates like court coordinators, brought in computers for Zoom, additional telephones, etc.
  • Hinojosa – Migrants also have health care and medical support
    • Yes, UT Medical Branch and Windham School teachers supporting
  • Hinojosa – Some taking English classes, recreation available?
    • Yes, also religious services
  • Hinojosa – What about food?
    • 3 hot meals a day
  • Hinojosa – What is the process for migrants accused of trespass can communicate with attorneys?
    • Had some growing pains at first to scale up and allow access to attorneys; they can visit live, but they typically do phone calls or Zoom hearings
  • Hinojosa – Also get a chance to communicate with families?
    • Yes, have 2 free phone calls, can also call anyone collect
  • Hinojosa – Average stay?
    • 49 days
  • Hinojosa – Majority of cases that get before judges are pleas? Time served?
    • Yes
  • Hinojosa and Collier discuss process, typically get court documents the same day, from there processed through immigration at ICE or Border Patrol, sometimes individuals picked up or driven to authorities, not released into the community
  • Hinojosa – Read complaints about the food, what do they eat?
    • Regular balanced meal, typically protein, vegetables, 3x/day; also have a contract model with a commissary
  • Hinojosa – Asks after alterations to facilities, conditions of facilities
    • Brought in temporary air conditioning, generators, etc.; have a library
  • Hinojosa – Not being mistreated from what I have heard
  • Birdwell – You mentioned Border Patrol or ICE gets these individuals, does TDCJ make that call, does the judge?
    • Coordinated through ICE or Border Patrol, they have live connections to TDCJ’s systems
  • Birdwell – They do not arrive at your demand or request, through their process?
    • We notify them
  • Birdwell – If they want a detainer, they notify you?
    • Yes, early in the process, we notify as we bring people in
  • Birdwell – Is there a timeline on detainers?
    • Very short, typically in place very quickly, by the time sentence is imposed then detainers are already in place
    • Usually, same day when ICE or Border Patrol picks them up

 

Brandon Wood, Texas Commission on Jail Standards

  • Here to answer any questions
  • Birdwell – For what are you using the $200k?
    • Wood – Using these to backfill duties performed by existing staff, moved on of the existing employees to Lone Star who is offering assistance to involved agencies
  • Birdwell – So not for new people, but to send someone from TDJS on-site?
    • Yes, were given authorization for more FTEs, but after looking at amounts decided to use available staff and backfill
  • Birdwell – So for overtime instead for new employees?
    • Yes, similar approach

 

Kim Vickers, Texas Commission on Law Enforcement

Michael Antu, Texas Commission on Law Enforcement

Cullen Grisham, Texas Commission on Law Enforcement

  • Birdwell – You were appropriated $300k for Lone Star for border investigations? You are a professional org but also acting in criminal investigations?
    • Vickers – Dealing with professional side of it, security issues from cartels trying to infiltrate law enforcement
    • $300k funds two FTEs, one auditing agencies on new hires, one investigator working in conjunction with investigating agencies
  • Birdwell – Sounds like you are describing internal affairs
    • Yes, part of it is licensing
  • Hinojosa – Has been a challenge with LEOs, always tempted by the cartels, takes strong effort by IA and others to try and clean out law enforcement of members aiding these organizations
    • Currently restricted in taking license actions, etc., when there is an adjudication in cases
  • Hinojosa – Highlights that you cannot act on license until officers are found guilty
  • Birdwell – Who calls you to activate the two new investigators?
    • One field investigator uncovers these issues through audits
    • Work very closely with Rangers, local law enforcement, FBI, etc.
  • Birdwell – Need to make sure accusations are not used as weapons, innocent until proven guilty
    • Yes, this is the focus
  • Hinojosa – Other reasons for officers to be suspended beyond criminal investigations

 

Donna Shepherd, Department of State Health Services

 

  • Birdwell – Have two-line item services for ambulance services, $5m and $10.9m
    • Essentially service is the same for both line items, providing medical assistance when requested, currently 4 missions with 2 ambulances each available 24/7
  • Birdwell – Are these state ambulances or contracted?
    • Contracted, all ambulance services are contracted
  • Birdwell – Ambulances for magistration centers and where?
    • At the TDCJ managed facilities
  • Birdwell – Any dollars that go to clinics, etc.?
    • No, ambulances maybe do an encounter or transfer to hospitals
  • Birdwell – For those detained and also for Lone Star personnel?
    • These ambulances are primarily for the immigrants

 

Closing Comments

  • Birdwell – In the coming days will have some coordinating instructions, will be looking at getting additional info, e.g., granularity; will need a future hearing with TAC, TML, county attorneys, etc. & some period of time for public testimony
  • Birdwell – Expecting to be done with factfinding by October 1st and get report for Lt. Gov. by Thanksgiving
  • Hall – Appreciate talking with military portion of this all at once
  • Birdwell – Natural Resources interim charges came out, probably 3 hearings, Finance will start too
  • Hinojosa – Appreciates flexibility in setting hearings to fit schedules, now have charges from Lt. Gov. asking after funding & maximizing resources
  • Birdwell – Challenge is that decision pending that is about to be executed will make job more difficult
  • Hinojosa – Has concerns about funding down the road
  • Birdwell – Would prefer federal government does what its tasked to do, desire is to not have to do this
  • Hall – To not do it would not save us money necessarily, people coming across are costing us regardless