Sheriff Hernandez has defied Governor Abbott and placed her deputies at-risk.
When taking a political stand puts your employees at-risk, you have gone too far.
When I ran for Sheriff in Edwards County in Texas, I met with Sally Hernandez. At the time, she was the candidate for Travis County Sheriff. She had been a constable in Travis County and had stepped down to run for sheriff.
We were at several campaign events together and I agreed with a lot of what I heard her say. However, I strongly opposed her stand on illegal immigration, and her desire to make her jurisdiction a sanctuary county. We parted on several issues, but this was a real eye-opener.
Since then, Sheriff Sally Hernandez has become the face of resistance to immigration laws in Texas. She has defied the governor and put her deputies at-risk.
I wrote about Sheriff Hernandez and her views some time ago, and as far as I am concerned, she has betrayed the very people she leads. It is a shame that she has chosen to take this political stance, defy the State of Texas directives, and cost her deputies the protection they deserve.
Texas lawmakers passed SB4 in the spring of 2017. SB4 states that county sheriffs are required to honor Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers or hold arrested people in jail until federal immigration officials arrive. The legislation is currently being appealed and is expected to go to the Supreme Court before all is said and done. Regardless, the Texas Governor’s office can require agencies to honor ICE detainers whether SB4 is upheld or not.
In January, Governor Greg Abbott said the state would fund $23 million in grants targeted to purchase 33,000 rifle-resistant vests for more than 450 law enforcement departments. The money for these vests came about after a deadly night in Dallas in 2016 when several police officers were murdered during a Black Lives Matter march. In the 2017 legislative session, state lawmakers unanimously approved Senate Bill 12, a $23 million program to provide law enforcement with funds to pay for protective vests. Every single law enforcement agency that applied for the state grants to purchase the vests received this lifesaving equipment.
The vests were part of the “Police Protection Act” that also makes it a hate crime to specifically target a police officer. The act increased penalties for crimes where the officer is a victim and established July 7, the date of that attack in Dallas, as “Fallen Law Enforcement Officer Day.”
The Sheriff has, in effect, sacrificed the safety of her deputies on the altar of liberal politics.
On August 29, 2017, the Travis County Commissioners Court was presented a grant summary. County documents show that project manager Valerie Hollier planned on asking for a state grant of approximately $240,000 that would purchase more than 200 of the rifle-resistant vests. While Travis County deputies do have bulletproof vests to protect them against low-caliber bullets, they do not have the upgraded protection that the governor’s grant would provide.
The grant had a condition attached to it that required each sheriff to sign a letter confirming compliance with ICE detainer requests. Once that letter was signed and sent in, the funds for the vests would then be released from the governor’s office.
By “digging in her heels” on the sanctuary issue, Sheriff Hernandez has decided to forgo the funds and, in turn, is not purchasing the vests for her department. She has, in effect, sacrificed the safety of her deputies on the altar of liberal politics.
As a lifelong law enforcement officer, protecting those that worked with and for me was always utmost in my mind. Sheriff Hernandez’s decision is tantamount to throwing her personnel to the wolves. Simply following the law of the state is all that is needed. She has chosen to defy the laws of the State of Texas, the Texas legislature, the governor, and the people that elected them.
A very wise man told me to choose the hill you are prepared to die on carefully. Sally Hernandez may very well have chosen hers. She should be removed from office.
