JUNE 2022. Blues Vol 38 No. 6.1

vised us that their families routinely
witness illegal migrants
traversing their lands, some in
military camouflage.
We’ve noted conversations
with rugged ranchers, whose
only desire is to work the land
and make a living for their
families, dismally describe the
onslaught of migrants crossing
their properties, leaving behind
a sea of crumpled plastic bottles,
feces, old diapers, chicken
bones, slaughtered cattle, food
containers and in some cases
corpses. Some locals are considering
leaving the lands their
families have labored for generations.
Nevertheless, never once
did I hear from either the Sheriff,
deputies and ranchers that they
were not sympathetic to the human
tragedies taking place, the
trafficking, death, and sustained
harm that both citizens and migrants
alike have suffered.
MANY FACETS TO THE CRISIS
There are many facets to
this crisis. It’s about the toll on
migrants, loaders, communities
and local law enforcement
officers risking their lives each
day. It’s about toddlers dumped
at the feet of officers, or worse,
in desolate regions of the desert,
to divert CBP attention so
adults can slip across the border
elsewhere. It’s about fentanyl
and the mounting death toll. It’s
about police, sheriffs, emergency
workers and healthcare
workers dealing with addiction
and overdose in faraway communities.
It’s about the national
guardsman who died in his attempt
to save three migrants and
the federal officers and others
who have succumbed to suicide
due to stress and depression.
[7, 8] It’s about the dedicated
and intrepid members of CPB,
HSI and others working in DHS
growing frustrated and despondent
due to political posturing
by leadership. And it’s about so
much more.
Alongside the war in Ukraine,
the border crisis has become
one of the greatest disasters in
modern American history. Law
enforcement leaders hundreds
of miles from the border must
realize the crisis will likely reach
their jurisdictions.
WHAT NON-BORDER JURIS-
DICTIONS CAN DO
Exactly, how, then, can local
law enforcement hundreds of
miles away from the border become
part of the solution?
Sheriff Dannels, current chair
of the National Sheriff Association’s
Southern Border Security
Committee, shared several key
recommendations for law enforcement
agencies throughout
the United States to consider.
Educating citizens about the
See Something, Say Something
campaign related to human
trafficking and drugs is critical.
Cartels have an extensive reach,
so it’s paramount that we inform
officers about the complexities
of the opioid crisis and its potential
nexus to cartels.
The RAND Corporation report
“Law Enforcement Efforts
to Fight the Opioid Crisis” provides
detailed recommendations
agencies can implement.
[9] Examples include increasing
the frequency and scope of drug
screens in death investigations to
identify novel opioids and their
effects and applying data from
rapid analysis of seized materials
to inform public health and
law enforcement interventions.
The International Association
of Chiefs of Police offers another
resource, a recently released
toolkit of Enhanced Collaborative
Model (ECM) protocol development
checklists that provides
a list of items human trafficking
task forces should consider
when developing their own protocols.
Lastly, law enforcement
agencies small and large need
to train select officers in recognizing
and interpreting emerging
threats radiating from social
media platforms. Organizations
such as the Network Contagion
Research Institute (NCRI) provide
training, expertise and technology
to address trends and provide
comprehensive forecasting
capabilities.
We don’t escape border issues
by not being near the border.
Sheriff Donahue’s words ring
true for many and are a harbinger
for the rest of us:
Border issues are driving the
criminality in our streets and
rural areas as well as unprecedented
numbers of overdoses,
including overdose incidents and
even deaths inside our jails,”
he explains. “My jurisdiction is
not unique in the threats we are
facing. This border crisis will
continue to get worse, and it is
affecting every single city, county,
and borough in the United
States, whether we are talking
about drug, human and or sex
trafficking”
If your jurisdiction has been
fortunate enough to have been
spared, now is the time to prepare.
The border is coming to
your door.
22 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 23