El Paso County Sheriff worries Trump policies will impact local jails, resources

Local El Paso jails are almost at capacity, and if local law enforcement is forced to house migrants in those facilities, the El Paso County Sheriff worries that it would cause problems for the county. 

"We don't have the manpower, we do not have the training, you know, to go after immigration," said Sheriff Oscar Ugarte.

Sheriff Ugarte said they still haven't met with federal authorities about orders to detain migrants in their jails. 

Yet he says a lot of questions are up in the air if they are forced to — such as if they'll get federal funding, or if it's even legal. That's something he said would need to be considered with the county attorney once they do get executive orders. 

And the biggest worry he says, is capacity. 

"We don't have the resources," said Ugarte. "As we stand right now, detention officers, we are short on staff. Deputy patrol officers, we are short on staff and our infrastructure. We don't have the bed space right now. We're almost at capacity." 

The Annex has a capacity of 1,896 inmates, and currently has 1,751 already. 

Ugarte said while his deputies are not working with customs and border patrol right now, they are understaffed and working a large amount of overtime — an issue that can worsen if they are ordered to follow federal immigration laws and President Trump's Administration policies which he said he does not agree with.

"I think it's going to cause a great separation and trust issues between law enforcement and the community," said the Sheriff. "I believe a lot of crimes are going to go unreported because they will feel fear, you know, in calling local law enforcement because they might be deported."

Sheriff Ugarte said that their office is not focusing on immigration laws, and that their main priority is public safety.