By JEFF CARLTON
Associated Press Writer
DALLAS- An organization of Texas sheriffs patrolling the border with Mexico received nearly $5 million from the U.S. federal government, a grant that should keep the group going through at least November 2007.
The $4.9 million grant awarded Thursday represents the first federal commitment to the Texas Border Sheriffs Coalition, said Rick Glancey, its interim executive director. The coalition had previously received about $9 million in state funding for Operation Linebacker, a program designed to catch drug smugglers and other criminals in border counties.
The additional patrols have markedly decreased crime in 16 border counties, Glancey said Thursday.
Critics, including the American Civil Liberties Union in Texas and state senator Juan Hinojosa had raised concerns, saying the coalition was overstepping its authority by setting up roadblocks and detaining people who might be illegal immigrants.
But the coalition has stopped those practices, Hinojosa said. It is focused on targeting crime and supporting the U.S. Border Patrol.
The legislator said he was pleased that the Department of Justice was supporting the group.
“Absolutely the money is welcome,” Hinojosa said. “A lot of the sheriffs are from counties that are poor and don’t have the money or resources to provide the proper equipment. They don’t have the firepower to confront some of the drug cartels that use those corridors to smuggle drugs into our country.”