Commissioners approve resolution

Monday morning, El Paso County Commissioners voted 4-1 to approve a resolution that opposes the construction of a border wall in downtown El Paso.

Commissioner Andrew Haggerty was the only commissioner to vote against the resolution.

The news last week that the federal government is building a border wall sent shockwaves throughout the Borderland.

Friday, the Border Patrol held a news conference to announce the construction of the wall that is going to be built near the historic Chihuahuita neighborhood.

The Border Patrol says the wall is needed to combat illegal crossings.

The resolution that was approved by commissioners on Monday calls the wall “a symbol of hate.”

It states that the construction of the wall causes further separation in our community and that it puts the lives of migrants and border residents at risk.

Instead of building walls, the resolution calls for the federal government to adopt policies that help in reuniting immigrant families separated at the border and that help in demilitarizing the border.

El Paso County Judge Ruben Vogt voted and signed the resolution.

“There needs to be better dialogue and better collaboration so that we’re all working together,” Vogt said. “Catching an entity off guard and blindsiding our community, that’s not the way to build any collaboration.”

Commissioner Andrew Haggerty was the only commissioner on the court not to sign the resolution.

Haggerty believes the County should stay out of federal business.

“It’s a federal issue, there’s a lot of problems with it, but it’s not my job to fix those problems,” Haggerty said. “I’ve been hired to be the county commissioner and I’m going to concentrate my time and my resources to make sure that we’re doing what we can to make the county better.”

KVIA 2018