The Jenny Beth Show

Steve Friend Part 1: FBI Whistleblower

Episode Summary

Jenny Beth sits down with former FBI Special Agent Steve Friend, who inadvertently became a whistleblower when he expressed concerns over operations that he believed went against his oath to the Constitution and his training.

Episode Notes

Check out Steve's book:
True Blue: My Journey From Beat Cop to Suspended FBI Whistleblower

Episode Transcription

Sheriff Martinez (00:00):

Uh, we've been told that there's a hundred to 110,000 people along the US Mexico border right now, 660,000 that are displaced in Mexico from other countries, 250,000, uh, Mexican population planning to, to make their way up here. So you're talking about a million people

Narrator (00:16):

Keeping our republic is on the line, and it requires Patriots with great passion, dedication, and eternal vigilance to preserve our freedoms. Jenny Beth Martin is the co-founder of Tea Party Patriots. She's an author, a filmmaker, and one of time magazine's most influential people in the world. But the title she is most proud of is Mom To Her Boy, girl Twins. She has been at the forefront fighting to protect America's core principles for more than a decade. Welcome to the Jenny Beth Show.

Jenny Beth Martin (00:48):

In this episode of the Jenny Beth Show, I traveled to Del Rio, Texas to interview the Val Verde County Sheriff, Joe Martinez. Val Verde County sits on the border with Mexico and has a population of about 48,000 people. In 2014, we interviewed Sheriff Martinez for a documentary, the Border States of America, where even back then we were ringing the alarm about the crisis on our southern border. Sadly, not much has changed. In fact, under Joe Biden, it has gotten much worse. In 2021 Biden's first year in office, illegal border crossing surged to their highest levels ever. Then in 2022, the record was broken again. And now with the expiration of Title 42, we are anticipating a new surge on the border. But don't take it from me. Let's hear directly from a border sheriff who is on the front lines of this crisis every single day. Sheriff Martinez, thank you so much for letting us come here to your office. We're on location at the Val Verde Sheriff's Office, so thank you very much for doing this podcast and, and hosting us here today.

Sheriff Martinez (01:56):

Thank you. You're welcome.

Jenny Beth Martin (01:58):

So, you have been sheriff here for 14 years, and your, your county is right along the border in the, in the Del Rio sector of, of the border. Um, what kind of changes have you seen happen over the last couple of years and what, what, just tell us what's going on right now.

Sheriff Martinez (02:19):

The border. So, so in the last couple of years, uh, for example, in 2021, we had a, uh, increase of, uh, individuals coming across, uh, 260,000. Uh, and that number, uh, was more than the previous nine years combined. Wow. Last year, uh, there was, uh, 400 and, uh, 80,000 that came across in 2022 and through the Del Rio sector, not just Del Rio, Texas, but the Del Rio sector of Border patrol. Right. Uh, and this year they're on pace to exceed even those numbers. Uh, so, you know, there's no telling what, you know, the lifting of Title 42 is gonna do to us or to the, not just us, but to the entire, uh, Southwest border.

Jenny Beth Martin (03:10):

Wow. Um, the, so in 2021 it was 240,000, is that what you said?

Sheriff Martinez (03:18):

No, 260,000.

Jenny Beth Martin (03:19):

60,000. And that was all of the previous nine years combined. And then the next year, that number doubled.

Sheriff Martinez (03:25):

Yes.

Jenny Beth Martin (03:26):

And then we expected it to be even higher than last year, this year. Yes. I, I just needed to reinforce that. Those are tremendous numbers. There are huge numbers. Um, I have, you were featured in our documentary that we did Border States of America back in 2014, and I learned so much from you that just his state in my mind all these years, because the interview with you is the first interview of a border sheriff that I did. Since then, I've talked to a lot of border sheriffs, but the one with you just stood out because you were showing me the map and, and just explaining to me what goes on at the entire border. Um, your job as sheriff, you, you're not patrolling the border necessarily normally. Right. Is that Border Patrol who is patrolling the border. And then what do you, what does your department do as sheriff?

Sheriff Martinez (04:17):

So it's border patrol's job. Uh, that's their job. The immigration, our job is, uh, make sure that our citizens are safe and protected. So we, you know, keep our community safe. Uh, in times of, of, I guess, turmoil, uh, we support our federal partners. And by us supporting our federal partners, it helps keep our community safe.

Jenny Beth Martin (04:39):

Okay. And, um, your, your county doesn't have as much human beings who are coming through. It's a little bit further south, right? Where the, the, the people are coming through that make up that 260,000, is that correct? So

Sheriff Martinez (04:57):

The, uh, the 260,000, the majority of those people came through Valdo, the county. Okay. In Del Rio. Okay. That was the part of the Haitian crisis. Okay. Uh, in, in, uh, 2022. Okay. So that was part of that.

Jenny Beth Martin (05:12):

Okay.

Sheriff Martinez (05:13):

Uh, those numbers. Okay. Uh, currently, uh, border Patrol is dealing with anywhere from 50 to 80 people a day in ver of the county alone versus the Del Rio sector. They're dealing with seven to 800 a day.

Jenny Beth Martin (05:28):

Okay. So you've got about 10% of what they're dealing with for the whole sector here in your county. Yes. Here in our county. And, um, what, what kind of issues does this present? Let's start first with just the people here in this county. What, when we have so many more people going through the border, what, what is happening to the people in your county?

Sheriff Martinez (05:50):

So, so Del Rio's not equipped, uh, to house people. We don't have a transportation system for, in essence, Greyhound comes through here. Back then, he used to come here two or three times a week. Now it's coming, I believe, twice a day. And that's just one bus. Uh, so we're not set up with, with a shelter. We have a, the Val Verde, uh, humanitarian Coalition that helps individuals leave our community, uh, once they're processed by Border Patrol. Okay. But they can only handle about 180 to probably 230 a day. And that's made up of nothing but volunteers. Uh, so, you know, when, when Border patrol gets overwhelmed and the numbers start to really impact this community, uh, border Patrol has to take actions to decompress what we're holding here. Mm-hmm. , and they, they release to either the Stripe station or to, uh, the coalition, the Humanitarian Coalition. So there's been an occasion where people have been wandering our streets and that, you know, it raises, uh, you know, our, our citizens are concerned. Uh, we don't know. Yes, they've been processed, but you know, you still have to, uh, you see individuals from, from different countries, people that don't really belong here in Del Rio, you know, walking their streets, uh, sleeping at the, at the stripes, uh, convenience store per se. Right. So that just, you know, it, it alarms people.

Jenny Beth Martin (07:23):

Okay. And you, how much of the border does your county have? How many miles?

Sheriff Martinez (07:29):

So, so we share 110 miles of, of border with the Mexican state of Guila and Verdo. The county consists of 3,200 square miles. Uh, we go about 72 miles to the, uh, to the west, northwest and to the north. We go about 70 plus miles. Okay. North and then to the east and the South about 10 miles to the, so Del Rio is basically at the bottom pocket of, of, uh, of Andrea, the county.

Jenny Beth Martin (07:58):

Okay. And, um, and we are close, closer on this side of the county where we are on, because we're on the Eastern side, we're closer to Eagle Pass, and then 72 miles to the West. It's more, it's much more remote in, in that area. Correct. Yes. And in that area, do you have people over on the Western side? Do you have people who are coming up the border there?

Sheriff Martinez (08:24):

So, so that's an open area that, uh, uh, in my opinion, there's a lot of people that don't want to get caught. That's where they go. Uh, cuz they got a three days hike, uh, or less if they're getting picked up to Interstate 10. And once they get on Interstate 10, I mean, they can go anywhere they want. Okay. Now they circumvent it all, uh, portable drill checkpoints at that point.

Jenny Beth Martin (08:46):

All right. And when we say things like they don't wanna get caught, what happens when they are getting caught versus when they're, they're not, let's talk about, happens first when they are caught.

Sheriff Martinez (08:57):

So, so when they are caught, uh, they're processed by border patrol mm-hmm. , so let's just go back a little bit. So Sure. If, if, if my people apprehend someone, uh, or detain someone, they're gonna be turned over to border patrol. Border patrol will take that individual, uh, they'll go through their processing, uh, uh, protocols. Right. Uh, if they have a, a legitimate reason to be here or, uh, they're expecting a, a hearing, eventually, uh, they get let go. They're given a temporary, uh, pass, uh, to appear at a court date at a later time. Okay. So that's what, that's, that's the process. Once border patrol processes, processes, those individuals, they either are moved to San Antonio and that hasn't been discussed in this upcoming, uh, weeks, how that's gonna take place. But if they're released, they'll be released to the Humanitarian Coalition Center here in Del Rio. From there, they're moved out by, by those individuals, or they go to the Stripe station where they purchase a, uh, Greyhound bus ticket and they move on on their own.

Jenny Beth Martin (10:07):

Okay. And just for people who maybe haven't aren't familiar, a Stripes station that is a gas station, a convenient convenience

Sheriff Martinez (10:15):

Store, that that is a small convenience store.

Jenny Beth Martin (10:16):

Okay. That's right. So it may not be called Stripes where you live, but, but we all know what a gas station looks like. And I've seen quite a few of them as I've been driving through Texas Okay. The past couple of days. Um, so those are kind of the people who we may see on the news, who they talk about the children and the, the people who wanna come to America more for a better life. And we can debate, and I, I always more than happy to have these debates about whether all of the rules and laws are being followed with, with that. But then when they don't wanna get caught and they don't wanna go through that, that very lenient process of being caught where they just get released to a, a court date at some future time, what, what's going on with those people who don't wanna be caught?

Sheriff Martinez (11:03):

So we don't know what's going on with those people. Cause we don't know what's coming out in those areas that are very remote. Mm-hmm. , you know, you could have, you know, uh, people smuggling drugs, uh, you could have criminals coming through there. We just don't know because we don't know what's coming through there.

Jenny Beth Martin (11:19):

And do you wind up, um, if you're, do your deputies wind up catching people further north than just along the border within your county, like a little bit deeper in or does that happen very often?

Sheriff Martinez (11:31):

So, so on a, on occasion, but a lot of times, you know, they're already bypassed all, all of border patrol and all of us and they're just basically going through ranch land to rural areas. And they're on the move.

Jenny Beth Martin (11:44):

They're on the move. And then once again on I 10, um, that is an east west expressway that is here in Texas. It goes I all the way to California and all the way east. So that pretty much, once you're on the interstate system, then you can go anywhere in the country, right?

Sheriff Martinez (12:01):

You can move about anywhere. Yes.

Jenny Beth Martin (12:03):

And there are no border patrol stations along the interstate are there.

Sheriff Martinez (12:08):

So there's one in, in Sierra Lanka Okay. That handles the eastbound traffic, but there's nothing that handles the westbound traffic till you move beyond uh, El Paso.

Jenny Beth Martin (12:18):

Okay.

Sheriff Martinez (12:19):

So they're just strategically located, but it's not gonna catch everybody cuz you can turn off a 10 and go north. Right. On any farm to market road, any state highway, and you basically circumvented checkpoints

Jenny Beth Martin (12:32):

And once you go on 10, you could go even further north and you've got a, well, 10, show me on the map, where is

Sheriff Martinez (12:41):

10? So 10 is right here, 10 is up there, drops into San Antonio. Okay. And that's 20 that goes to Dallas Fort Worth

Jenny Beth Martin (12:46):

There. We Okay. So once you're on it, if you really wanted to get around it, then you could, if you get to 10, then you could go on any one of those other state roads and keep going further, further north. Yes. And get on 20 and then from 20 go on in other parts of the, the country. Yes. Um, that's why we called our documentary back in 2014 Border States of America. Because it isn't just right here in Texas. It, once you're in the interstate system, it winds up making every state of border state.

Sheriff Martinez (13:14):

Yes. So once you circumvent anything along the border, basically the border is the first line of defense. After you, uh, go beyond that, you know, you can run anywhere you want to in the country.

Jenny Beth Martin (13:28):

Um, and, and, and for people who are listening, it's, I think that some people, if you haven't tracked this issue very closely, it, it's kind of shocking to, to hear that it's a little bit jarring. But that's how drugs move through the country. That's how people who are doing bad things that they don't wanna get caught are, are able to move through the move through.

Sheriff Martinez (13:49):

Yes.

Jenny Beth Martin (13:50):

Um, when they are, when they are caught. So when they're going through the processing center, it, it doesn't seem like they're are, are they sending many people back out of the country when they move through there? Or does that happen once they're in the hearing?

Sheriff Martinez (14:06):

So, and I don't know what the process is. I know that Sure. Uh, they did expel some when we had the Haitian crisis here. Mm-hmm. especially, they, they were expelling the Mexicans, the, the Hondu or Tamalas and the El SALs, they were sending them back. Okay. So coming up, uh, in the next couple of weeks, I don't know what, uh, what populations, uh, will be sent back. I know that more than likely the criminal element will be sent back. Uh, and everybody else that is not will be, uh, afforded a, an opportunity to present their case, uh, in court

Jenny Beth Martin (14:42):

As we are, um, dealing with, with the news of the day. We've heard of a recent incident where there was an, an immigrant who was here, who had been deported previously and he came back to America. So he wasn't supposed to be here. It clearly, he was here illegally and he wound up, um, shooting in and killing several people in Cleveland, Texas. How does this happen where people are deported and then they wind up being back in our country? What's going on with that?

Sheriff Martinez (15:14):

So, you know, that's part of the problem because it's an unsecured border. You know, people get deported, they make their way back, they get caught, they get deported again. You know, I'm interested in learning, you know, what were the circumstances on the three or four other deportations, uh, where was he at? Did they happened right at the right at the border? Did he get caught, you know, coming across the river? But, you know, that's part of a, of a broken system and people will take advantage of it.

Jenny Beth Martin (15:44):

And when they're deported, if they come back into the country, are they normally going through the means where they might get caught or in when they're coming back through? Are these the kind of people who you're talking about who don't wanna get caught?

Sheriff Martinez (15:56):

These are probably the kind of people that don't wanna get caught.

Jenny Beth Martin (15:58):

Yeah. And these, and, and that's why it's so important. Some people say, oh, it's a humanitarian problem. We have to, there are people who need to get out of bad circumstances where they, they live. Well if you're, if you're not obeying the law and you create a situation where, uh, essentially lawlessness is happening, then we wind up with these, these kind of problems where people take advantage of it.

Sheriff Martinez (16:25):

Yes. And it's that kind of people that don't, don't need to be here.

Jenny Beth Martin (16:28):

And it's that kind of people why we do need to secure our border.

Sheriff Martinez (16:32):

Exactly.

Jenny Beth Martin (16:33):

Yes. Okay. Now, um, back in 20 14, 1 of the things that you said to me, we could deal with a lot of the problems that we have along the border, if we just obeyed the, the laws. Do you feel like the laws are being obeyed right now?

Sheriff Martinez (16:48):

So, you know, and it's, it's, in my opinion, it's both parties fault. Cuz neither one is explained by, by the rules. Uh, you know, I've referred it back then. It's like, you know, it's like a football game. Each side has the b a side has the ball, they move it to the 40 yard line and they punt over and nobody's ever gonna score a touchdown. So, in my opinion, you know, uh, nothing's ever gonna get done until both sides or the middle comes together and works together to solve the problem.

Jenny Beth Martin (17:21):

And for those who are listening, you're not a Republican, are you? No. No. So I, just so that people understand you, you think the border needs to be secure and you're not a Republican. You're a man who lives on the border and it's your duty and job to protect the people in your county who also live along the border. Yes. And that's your, your goal and your objective.

Sheriff Martinez (17:44):

That's my objective. Our, our objective as a, as a law enforcement officer, it is not, you know, when the phone rings in my dispatch, we don't ask if they're a Republican or Democrat. Right. We're here to serve and by serving, you know, I mean we're going to protect our community.

Jenny Beth Martin (18:00):

Right. Um, so what do you think needs to be done to strengthen the, the, the border?

Sheriff Martinez (18:06):

So, you know, I think both sides need to come together mm-hmm. and enforce what's there. Come up with a solution that both sides can live with moving forward. Uh, to allow people that are fleeing their hardships in their country, uh, a a process, uh, uh, that they can legally be here. If not, they need to go back.

Jenny Beth Martin (18:28):

Right. It, it seems pretty simple.

Sheriff Martinez (18:31):

It does.

Jenny Beth Martin (18:32):

But I, I've, I've been tracking this issue for, for nearly a decade, maybe even over a decade at this point. And, um, I I, what I see also is not a lot of political will to pass laws to actually change the law of the land. I have seen differences between the presidents. So I've seen three different presidents, but I don't think, I think part of what we're about to see right now when Title 42 aspires is, is a problem in that, um, it, it's changing on a whim. I mean, it's changing, be it, it's not on a whim, but it's changing because of things that presidents have done, rather than a law being passed and, and being firm and secure. When presidents change it, it seems like it creates some, some chaos.

Sheriff Martinez (19:22):

It creates havoc, you know, cuz uh, the rules that are in the books are not being followed. And, you know, uh, it, no matter what party is there, you know, the guys in green, uh, border patrol, our federal partners, they're doing, they're doing their best with what they have to deal with. Situations that they've been dealt with. Uh, you know, I, my hat's off to them, uh, they've helped me keep my community safe. Uh, not one individual that has come across the border here in Veta County has stayed in Del Rio, or I better the county that they're not coming, you know, from throughout the world to stay in Del Rio, Texas. Right. You know, they're moving throughout the, they're, they're moving throughout the United States.

Jenny Beth Martin (20:08):

Um, a few minutes ago you said something about how when they're processing move on to San Antonio, what happens in San Antonio? The ones who are caught.

Sheriff Martinez (20:18):

So they, so San Antonio's a hub and there's not much that's gonna happen to them there. That's just, uh, they have, uh, San Antonio has a transportation infrastructure, be it by bus, uh, by, uh, airline. And, you know, they, they're gonna get help from somehow they're gonna get money shipped to 'em. A lot of 'em have had money, you know, previously have had money. The Venezuelan people, uh, when they got here, they all had money. They all purchased, uh, their bus tickets or their airlines tickets and, and they were gone. Uh, so San Antonio's just a hub. Okay. Uh, and I don't know at what point, uh, that community will be overwhelmed with what's possibly fixing to happen in, in the coming months.

Jenny Beth Martin (21:07):

And, um, what do you, what do you think is the best case and the worst case scenario of what may be happening as Title 42 expires?

Sheriff Martinez (21:17):

So when, when, when that expires, you know, uh, we've been told that there's, uh, a hundred to 110,000 people along the US Mexico border right now. Uh, there's another 660,000 that are displaced in Mexico from other countries. And then you throw another, uh, 250,000, uh, Mexican population that are probably planning to make their way up here. So you're talking about a million people. Million. So you just look at that number of a million people. Then you go back and you go back and you see what 20, 21, 22 and 22 did with, uh, 260 and 480,000 people coming across. It was, it was, it was chaos. Right. You know, cause we weren't prepared. Uh, what, and I want to, I, I wanna say, uh, you need to find a, a blessing in something that when we had the Haitian crisis over those 16 days, uh, border patrol here learned how to process and how to move out.

Sheriff Martinez (22:18):

Okay. And get rid of individuals that are here where they went to other, other states or other, uh, locations throughout the United States, you know, but they learned, uh, how to process and they were, they got good at it. So, you know, uh, those are, I guess, uh, lessons learned from, from, uh, from a chaotic situation. So hopefully that we don't get all slammed at the same time. Uh, back then it was Del Rio. Uh, you know, now I know that the Rio Grande Valley, uh, Macallen, uh, their, their, their numbers are climbing. Uh, their, their processing, uh, 2000 to 2,500 people on a daily basis. El Paso, uh, their numbers are climbing, uh, yuma's climbing, San Diego's climbing. So at this point, we don't know where the, those numbers are gonna be coming across.

Jenny Beth Martin (23:15):

Okay. And how do, how do they figure out where to go? Who, how do all these people who are coming from all over the world, apparently through our southern border, how do they know where to go to come in?

Sheriff Martinez (23:27):

So, you know, a lot of it's controlled by the cartels. Uh, it's all about money. And, you know, for example, in, in, in, uh, Akuna, there's not a very strong cartel presence there. But you go 60 miles down the road in Pire Nere. And they are, uh, and I'm familiar with that area cause I worked it for 10 years, uh, doing narcotics works for the Texas Department of Public Safety. I worked there for about 10 years. Uh, they have a pipeline, and whether they're a pipeline, can, you know, it, it, they're gonna move. If whether it's humans, drugs, uh, the flip flop, both, it doesn't make a difference. And that pipeline, you know, they got it established. That's how it come to have the, the I 35 corridor right there, easy access that takes them to San Antonio and riding into Austin. So that's an established pipeline. So why would somebody, uh, want to reinvent the wheel? There's something there already. Just use it. And, you know, you control the people coming into a certain location. Mm-hmm. , uh, you, you're a cartel. You're gonna charge them, you're gonna make your money again, whether it's narcotics or people, you're gonna make your money. It's all about money.

Jenny Beth Martin (24:38):

And they're, they're basically on the southern side, then controlling the border and, and who's,

Sheriff Martinez (24:46):

Well, I,

Jenny Beth Martin (24:47):

I don't know if control the border is the right phrase to use it or not.

Sheriff Martinez (24:50):

So I think, I think that the cartels, they've got their, they've got their spies throughout the country now, you know, over, over years. They've been, you know, they've been, for example, that, that, uh, that, uh, it's not a, it's a drug trafficking organization out of, uh, pie Negra. Uh, they've been doing it for 40 years, you know, going all the way into Dallas and into Chicago from there. Okay. And then into Atlanta out of Dallas. Uh, so they're established. So they have people already throughout the country.

Jenny Beth Martin (25:24):

So they move up through Mexico and even further south of Mexico, move up through Mexico, come through the, the border here, get on the interstate system. And if they're dealing with drugs, then, then that's how we wind up with a drug, the, the drug supply for the drug problems in these, these cities across the country. Mm-hmm. the major cities as well as the, the small towns. Yeah. Um, the, the cartels. Some people think that sounds, I, I don't know. Um, they don't believe that they're really cartels that are doing anything along the border. Could could you elaborate on what you know about that? Not just from your sheriff, but also because you dealt in the narcotics unit?

Sheriff Martinez (26:08):

So, you know, they're, they're a well oiled machine. Uh, they're probably better equipped than most law enforcement agencies when it comes to technology. Uh, so they, they have, they have deep roots and they, they control. And in my opinion, you know, uh, they probably control the Mexican government too, to a certain point. Uh, you never see a lot of cartels being dismantled, uh, by, by the Mexican government. Right. You know, you hardly see it. You know, we, we, we brag here that we dismantled a, a a a cell, but that's just a sale of a certain cartel that we don't, we don't, we don't reach into Mexico. We dis dismantle what's here in the United States, what's affecting us immediately. But, you know, there's somebody to take their place right away,

Jenny Beth Martin (27:02):

Kinda like a starfish. Mm-hmm. , they just keep growing and they don't have to have, you're not cutting off the head. At least not here in America. We're not cutting off the head of it. No. Why not? Um, when the move through, if they're moving through, um, in, in the area that we are in of your, your county, so on the eastern side, they still could evade checkpoints and get on the interstate system. Right. So if they, they didn't wanna be caught, or they were carrying something they didn't want to be, to be caught, then, um, the, there's still a way to do that, even though there are checkpoints. Is that correct?

Sheriff Martinez (27:40):

So there, there's ways to, to, to work around it. For example, right now, there's DPS is putting a lot of pressure and Demit, Valla and Maverick County. So we get a little bit of the spillover and, you know, right in front of our building, our office here is, you know, farm to market road that takes you up to Rock Springs, uh, the back way. And, uh, eventually you can go all the way to Fort Worth. Uh, so, and by going that route, you circumvent it. Uh, any checkpoints now, you gotta, you know, in Rock Springs you got border patrol that's stationed there, but they gotta be, they gotta be, you know, on the road watching. Right. So, but we do catch a little bit of, uh, overflow because of the pressures they're putting in other locations, uh, to the, to the, to the east of us. And we just, you know, they circumvent that area, end up through our area and, and they're gone.

Jenny Beth Martin (28:37):

If you are someone who lives in a different part of the country that isn't anywhere near Texas, so let's say they're in Minnesota or Chicago or Georgia or wherever, they're not even near the border anywhere, what are the things you think people like that in the other parts of the heartland of the country should be aware of?

Sheriff Martinez (28:56):

So, you know, they're probably coming to you, to your neighborhood. Uh, again, uh, they're, they're, they're probably be more activity, uh, where they're at. They're probably in a more dangerous place than we are here on the border. You know, a lot of people think that the border is a, is a war zone. Well, it's, it's, it's, it's not a war zone. There's a lot of activity going on. Uh, but, you know, just look at down the road, 150 miles San Antonio, you know, there's a, there's a shooting or a killing every day, two or three a day. Uh, and they're, you know, they're, they're the in, in the interior. You, I don't know what the stats are in Chicago, but look at those numbers. Right. I think they lead the nation. Right. You know, so, you know, in the, you know, and these people, they're not coming to stay at the border. They didn't travel thousands and thousands of miles to stay on the border. They're gonna go someplace else. And Del Rio Eagle Pass Sanderson, they're not coming to stay there. They're going, they're going to, uh, other communities throughout the country.

Jenny Beth Martin (30:01):

And if there are a million people who are coming, like we, we think that it, it might be that that is a lot of people that is, um, there are communities in this country, counties, plenty of counties in this country that don't even have a million people. There are states that are very small. This is a lot of people to be coming just in a flood across the, the

Sheriff Martinez (30:27):

Border. Yes. So, to give you an example of Iveta County, probably 48 to 49,000 people. Okay. Over a, uh, 16 day period, uh, during the Haitian crisis that we experienced here, we processed right at 18, 19,000 people. Wow. So almost half of our population over a 16 day period.

Jenny Beth Martin (30:49):

And those people just kept on going. So, um, just, I think that it's important for the listeners and the viewers to go back and think about the size of where they live right now and, and what that would be like if that many people were coming across into their community all at one time. That puts a tremendous strain on local resources. And then be aware that the people who are moving through here in your county, the county we're in today, they're going to to be in other counties across the country. They're not just staying here, as you've said.

Sheriff Martinez (31:24):

Yes. They're going, they're going throughout.

Jenny Beth Martin (31:26):

Um, what, what else do you think is really important for people to know?

Sheriff Martinez (31:33):

You know, I think that, uh, people need to get their head heads out of the sand and pay attention. Uh, because this has been going on for, for two years now. Uh, and it's probably going to get worse before it gets better. Uh, and we're just gonna have to deal with it. I mean, uh, the administrations are gonna have to start taking, uh, some actions. They're gonna have to be accountable. Uh, and that's just the way we're headed. Our, our, you know, uh, three years ago. We're at a different place in time. And just with what has transpired over the last, you know, two years, the United States of America will never be the same.

Jenny Beth Martin (32:20):

What, what was different three years ago besides Covid? Before Covid? What? W cuz covid changed everything for a little while when the world locked down.

Sheriff Martinez (32:29):

So, so, so that administration was, you know, was locking down the borders. So all that has changed. I mean, that has changed. Cause this mm-hmm. , this administration basically had an invitation, opened the borders, and people started coming. Uh, and you know, I go back to, uh, and I always talk about it January the 18th, uh, before this administration, uh, took office, there was a Haitian lady, uh, and her husband were crossing the Rio Grande here in Del Rio. Uh, and, uh, her body was recovered, uh, and she drowned, her and her husband drowned. Uh, she was pregnant at term with twins. So that year, I think we worked something like 28 drownings and people are dying, you know, uh, trying to make the trek to the United States. So, but that doesn't seem to matter to anybody. You know, there has to be a system in place that both sides, uh, both parties can live with at the same time.

Sheriff Martinez (33:31):

You know, allow people the opportunity or to be able to come here legally. Right. Or go through a process that doesn't take, you know, seven, eight years. I talked to a, um, Venezuelan 16 year old boy who was robbed, uh, in Acuna coming out of the river. And, uh, he asked if he, he could make a phone call. I loaned to my phone. He called his brother, and I had an opportunity to talk to his brother. So his brother's an architect working in New York City, still in the process eight years later, uh, trying to get some right legal status here. So it's just, you know, uh, I understand that some of those people are, are fleeing, uh, their governments. Uh, but there has to be something in place like, again, that we here in the United States, we can all live with. Right. That's acceptable.

Jenny Beth Martin (34:25):

Right. And it might not be that everyone can, can come because in order to process to, to do what you said and to make it not take quite so long, that it takes eight years to, to process, um, you, you might not be able to have, well, you probably can't have a million people trying to immigrate every single year. And, and people will have to wait in line before they can even get to our country. And, and it's frustrating, but it isn't just the people coming across the southern border. There are people from around the entire world who want, want to come in. So if you're coming in and you're doing the process legally, um, I used to work with people who were from India and they were in that same situation where they were waiting years and years to, to get their green card, I believe. And, um, it, it, it isn't fair to them if they're going through that entire process that's on the books legally, and they're following the entire law for people to be able to, to just cut in front of them because on a whim, because the president decided, well, we're gonna just not pay attention to these laws anymore. Mm-hmm. ,

Sheriff Martinez (35:33):

Uh, that's exactly right. You know, and I would prefer that people do it the way, uh, I would prefer that somebody apply from a different country and you start to process from a different country, you know, ideally that would, that would work in my opinion, but you couldn't wait seven, eight years someplace else. You know, so the system, it just needs to be revamped throughout.

Jenny Beth Martin (35:57):

Right, right. And I don't think that that's gonna happen anytime. No. Soon at all. No, it's really, um, I, it seems to me it's very frustrating as a citizen understanding what's happening at the border, understanding how it's affecting all of these different communities across the entire country in, in many, many ways a very negative manner. Um, it, it's very frustrating to me that, that it turns into a political football and that both sides are just tossing it back and forth, back and forth. And they use it to, to score political points, but they don't actually, very few seem interested in actually trying to solve the problem at hand. Yes.

Sheriff Martinez (36:39):

I, and, and that's pretty evident because our congressman has brought groups of people down here to tour the board to see the problem firsthand. Uh, 99.9% have been Republican. Uh, and I've toured with all of them. Uh, there's been probably two democrats that have come. Uh, they just don't want to acknowledge that there's an issue down here. Uh, so, you know, how are they going to work together? Right. Where they can't even take a trip to view a problem.

Jenny Beth Martin (37:15):

Right. And, and if you don't, if you don't believe that there's a problem and you're just completely ignoring it, and you have an opportunity to come and you don't even wanna come look and see, I, it, it is very difficult to solve a problem that people, you, the first step, like for Alcoholics Anonymous, the first step is to acknowledge you have a problem. Mm-hmm. . It's the first step. You can't solve it if you don't acknowledge it.

Sheriff Martinez (37:39):

Yes. That's exactly right.

Jenny Beth Martin (37:41):

Well, I hope that, go ahead. Were you about to say something else? No, no,

Sheriff Martinez (37:45):

That's it. No, that, that's, you've gotta acknowledge that there's a problem. If not, you can't, you can't fix it.

Jenny Beth Martin (37:50):

Right. I, I hope that the people who are listening today understand there's a problem. And if you're listening and you've got a democrat member of Congress, urge them to come down and look at what's going on along the border and see the impact of, of the lack of action. Yeah. That and, and what's happening with it.

Sheriff Martinez (38:09):

And, and again, I've invited people and I'll continue to invite people. I don't care who they are. Right. Uh, you know, when before all this got started, after 2014, uh, and after we met, and then, uh, in about three years ago, I had about six people, uh, news anchors on my phone. I counted the other day. I had, uh, like 70, 79. Wow. From all over. From all over the, from all over the country, all over the world. Uh, because in order to, for people to know what's going on, they have to come. And I'm willing to show people, you know, uh, ironically, right now, we're not a hotspot. Right. Uh, but I can, you know, I invite people to come and wherever they're at, go to the border and see for yourselves to include the media. Right. Uh, I mean, cuz that's how the message gets out.

Jenny Beth Martin (39:06):

Well, and I think that it, it, if you are, if, if the media is listening to this podcast, I think it's so important to come. And you were so gracious years ago in, in showing us around the county and it, and educating us and making sure that we understood what the problem was and then your counterparts, because we spoke with other sheriffs and we spoke with border patrol, and I've kept in touch with, with some of them over the years and, and others may have rotated and mm-hmm. may not be elected anymore, but I've, um, stayed in touch with 'em and I learned so much, so much just from being here and seeing it firsthand rather than just hearing about it on the news.

Sheriff Martinez (39:47):

Yeah. Yeah. So, just to add a little bit more insight along the Texas us along the Texas border, there's 21 border sheriffs. Each border sheriff has unique issues. Uh, if you look at Verda County versus Kenny County mm-hmm. , we're right on the, we're right on the River County. County's about 20 miles inland, Sanderson's about 20 miles inland, uh, in Brewster County, Alpine. They're, there're I wanna say about 120 if my memory serves me right from, from the border. So each, each, uh, county has unique issues. None are alike. You can't take the same process here in Verdo County and apply it to El Paso County. The same way with the border patrol sectors. Each sector is unique, has its own issues, has its own, uh, uh, shortfalls has its own problems. Uh, when it comes to securing the border. None, none are alike.

Jenny Beth Martin (40:49):

What, what are some of the different kinds of problems that, that one county versus another and one sector versus another face?

Sheriff Martinez (40:57):

So you, so, so you look at, at Laredo, for example, wave County, you know, they, they've got, uh, they probably got the technology infrastructure there and they're gonna make it simple. They probably, anywhere in, in Webb County, you probably got cell phone coverage and radio coverage. Vert of the county. You get out to the west, uh, there's no coverage out there. Right. So that's, that's a challenge to the deputies, the officers that are working. So none of them, none of them are like, you go down to the Rio Grande Valley, you probably got phone coverage, radio coverage everywhere you go.

Jenny Beth Martin (41:29):

Right.

Sheriff Martinez (41:30):

You know, so our, you know, uh, my, my difficulties would be I don't have communications in some parts of my county. And the further I, I get away from Del Rio, I lose, uh, those communications.

Jenny Beth Martin (41:47):

Which means that if you were trying to do something really nefarious, that's a good area to go through because it's harder, it's easier to, it's very remote and it's harder to, to communicate with, with other people, which if you're trying not to get caught, is actually probably a good thing. Yes. Um, then what about the sectors? Like the different, so you talked about the technology, what else, what other, other differences?

Sheriff Martinez (42:16):

So, so for example, in, in the Rio Grande Valley, I believe that their number of personnel is, uh, 3,600, uh, in the Del Rio sector, I believe is 1800. Wow.

Jenny Beth Martin (42:28):

Half , half.

Sheriff Martinez (42:29):

So, and we're probably a bigger area. Right. But we probably have less population overall. So those are just some of the, you know, some of the differences. You can't, you can't for from county to county, you, it is not a, a cookie cutter type deal. Each, each county has different needs, uh, uh, different shortfalls, you know, uh, I have a total of, uh, uh, 48 officers to include myself. I divide that by two because some are in civil warrants transport, uh, and c i d. So I've got on, on the, on the road patrol deputies, I got about 24. So there's different challenges for everyone.

Jenny Beth Martin (43:13):

Right. Um, I remember speaking a few years ago to Sheriff Daniels in, in Coch, Cochise County. Mm-hmm. in Arizona. And he said, our problems here are so much different than, than what they're facing over in Texas. He said in Texas they're dealing with people coming in and, and moving across the border. And here we're dealing with, with a drug problem. And, and it, it's interesting the kind of problems that, that you encounter as people are moving across as well.

Sheriff Martinez (43:45):

Yeah. So, so the cartels, they control the, the movement of drugs and stuff like that. Uh, movement of people. So it just depends who's in charge on, on the south side.

Jenny Beth Martin (43:56):

Wow. So

Sheriff Martinez (43:56):

There's, there's a difference.

Jenny Beth Martin (43:58):

I remember back in 20 14, 1 of the things that you said back then is that sometimes the cartels will flood a certain area, perhaps with people moving through and all of of our border patrol or sheriffs are focused on, on that particular area, especially if it's humans who are, are trying to be caught and then released. Um, and that, that diverts your attention. So it, it, then if they wanna run, people run other things that they don't wanna get caught. They know you're focusing over in, in the area that's really hot and, and they kind of have a freer pass, I guess.

Sheriff Martinez (44:38):

Yeah. And that's just a tactic that they, you know, use. And it's not just here in Texas, it's across, uh, the southwest border.

Jenny Beth Martin (44:46):

Yeah. That was, um, something in the very beginning of my process of learning about this, it just sort of, I, I didn't know until you explained it to me and I was like, wow. That it just has always stuck. That stuck with me. And I explained that to people when, whenever I talk about going to the border, I'm like, you have to understand there are different problems. And the cartels will, will have, there are we, we'll have their, we we focus on the shiny light and then they're off doing something. It's almost like a slide of hand. Right. Um, well, is there anything else that we should focus on that we should, that you would want people to, to be thinking about? Is there thinking about this problem or to know?

Sheriff Martinez (45:26):

So right now, I don't see that there's a, a light at the end of the tunnel moving forward over the next, sadly, over the next, you know, three months we see I have to wait and see. But the message that, that needs to get out there, I think the message needs to be sent out to the, to the public. And the public needs to be made aware that, you know, uh, uh, there's issues they need to be addressed, uh, and they need to pay attention.

Jenny Beth Martin (45:53):

Okay. And so, um, we, we've highlighted many of those issues. If you're a politician, an elected official part of the media, and they wanna come see the border, they probably could reach out to you. I don't wanna flood your office with, with people just reaching out.

Sheriff Martinez (46:10):

I'm sure Sheriff Wilmont, sheriff Daniels, myself, uh, sheriff Guerra, sheriff Benny Martinez, you know, they'll be willing to, to show people, show the media, uh, as to what's going on, on, on the, on the, uh, Southwest border, you know, sheriff Benny Martinez in Brooks County, he's removed from the border, but he leads, uh, all the border in number of deaths there.

Jenny Beth Martin (46:35):

And why is that?

Sheriff Martinez (46:37):

It's because a according, you know, I've heard him tell that, uh, you get the smugglers coming across and they tell 'em, they, they put the people they out to walk to circumvent the checkpoints. It's right over that horizon. Over there is Houston. And, you know, that's very, very dry hot area. And, uh, I think he has two mobile morgues in his county.

Jenny Beth Martin (47:04):

Um, and this, the terrain is very unforgiving, especially if you're walking. It's, it is, yes, it is hot and dry. And I, in the summertime, well, it's just April and where I was yesterday, a little bit west of here. It was in the nineties. Today it wasn't so hot. It's a little overcast, but yeah.

Sheriff Martinez (47:26):

So generally around here during the summer, a hundred two, a hundred four, a hundred eight, occasionally 112, uh, if you're out to the western part of the county, uh, there's real rugged, uh, uh, terrain, uh, limited water. Uh, if you go down to South Eagle Pass, it's, it's a flat brush land and it makes it easier to walk in, in, in that area. Also have easier access to other roads, uh, that lead to, uh, interstate 35. So yeah. So our deaths, uh, will probably rise during the summer, summer months. Right.

Jenny Beth Martin (48:07):

And that is when we're looking at the surge as well. So it's, um, we need to make sure people are aware and they, I I would urge them to call your congressman and tell your congressman to take, take action

Sheriff Martinez (48:20):

Cuz Take note,

Jenny Beth Martin (48:22):

Take note. Mm-hmm. . And if you notice that you've got, um, an increase in drug problems in your local area, it it's because we've got an open border right now and our laws are not being followed.

Sheriff Martinez (48:35):

Exactly.

Jenny Beth Martin (48:36):

Well, sheriff Martinez, thank you so much for, for having me here today in your county and your sheriff's office. I really appreciate it and appreciate your hospitality and, and also the fact that you've educated me so much.

Sheriff Martinez (48:49):

It's always a pleasure,

Jenny Beth Martin (48:51):

And we appreciate this. If you want more information about our documentary Border States of America, you can find that actually on YouTube by searching for Tea Party Patriots border States of America.

Narrator (49:04):

The Jenny Beth Show is hosted by Jenny Beth Martin, produced by Kevin Mooney hand and directed by Luke Livingston. The Jenny Beth Show is a production of Tea Party Patriots action. For more information, visit tea party patriots.org.

Jenny Beth Martin (49:24):

If you enjoyed this episode and want to stop Freedom Thieves from turning our country into a communist nightmare, be sure to click the thumbs up and subscribe to the channel. And while you're at it, click the notifications bell to get an alert every time we post a new episode.