STUART, Fla. (WPEC) — If you think Florida leaders shouldn’t be spending time and money helping secure the border between the United States and Mexico, Martin County Sheriff William Snyder has a message for you: "think again."
On Thursday, he told WPEC that he’s going to the border himself to get a better understanding of what needs to be done, following a recent spike in serious drug arrests that Snyder has not been shy about crediting to the border crisis.
“The border has been coming to us, and now, I am going to it,” he stated at a press conference Thursday.
Snyder is heading to Cochise County, Arizona at the invitation of local Sheriff Mark Daniels.
“It’s my belief that I’ll come away with a better understanding of the phenomenon, and maybe be able to direct resources here in a more focused approach,” Snyder said, when asked about his reasons for making the trip.
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Snyder’s announcement follows Wednesday’s arrests of Michael Whitehill and Jonathan Ramirez, who has an enormous ‘Martin Kounty’ tattoo on his stomach.
The pair had 370 fentanyl pills that deputies say came straight over the border.
“We actually have a text message in which the seller of the narcotics, in this case fentanyl, actually said ‘this is my ‘border price,” Snyder shared.
Sheriff Snyder is preparing to call a state of emergency at the county jail because they don’t have room for all the undocumented inmates.
“As of today, our jail is currently over capacity, with inmates sleeping on the floor on mats,” the sheriff revealed.
While he is eager to get an up close look at the border problem, Sheriff Snyder acknowledges that fixing it is Washington’s responsibility.
“I can go to the border a hundred times, Sheriff Daniels can triple his forces, we can’t stop what’s going on until the federal government gets their act together, moves into the border and stops it,” Snyder declared.
The sheriff and two deputies are leaving for Arizona in a couple of weeks.
In addition, Snyder wants taxpayers to know that they are not paying for this trip.
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