opinion
Written by Bethany Blankley (Center Square)
As is the case in many cities and small towns across Texas, families are increasingly losing loved ones to fentanyl poisoning and car crashes that law enforcement officials directly link to the border crisis.
In the oil and natural gas capital of far West Texas, a 10-year-old Midland boy was killed by a Mexican man after he entered the country illegally after being deported five times.
At approximately 4:35 p.m., Thursday, February 8, the Midland Police Department responded to a hit-and-run accident and arrested a driver after he struck a juvenile with a truck and left the juvenile in critical condition, Midland Police said. The juvenile was trying to cross the street after leaving school. MPD later announced that the victim of the hit and run was a 10-year-old boy. He was airlifted to Lubbock and later died from his injuries.
The alleged perpetrator, Rogelio Ortiz Olivas, known as Juan Ortiz Perez according to his U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer, first entered the country illegally and returned to Mexico through Customs and Border Protection's voluntary removal policy. He then entered the country illegally five more times after being deported each time. After entering illegally for the seventh known time, he made his way to Midland, just a few hours from the Mexico border.
The Midland County Sheriff's Office released information about his ICE detainer. The Sheriff's Office participated in the border security mission of Governor Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star after Midland County declared a disaster declaration due to the border crisis. The Governor held a roundtable in Midland in November 2021 to express his commitment to statewide law enforcement efforts. Since then, grant funds provided by Operation OLS have helped bolster law enforcement efforts statewide.
Midland County is one of 59 counties that have issued disaster declarations due to the border crisis. Judges and commissioners in 52 counties declared the invasion, including Crockett County in West Texas, after members of the judge's family were killed in a head-on collision by an alleged human trafficker. The smuggler was driving at over 100 mph trying to evade law enforcement as he drove north from the border.
Ortiz Olivas is being held at the Midland County Jail. He was initially charged with serious bodily injury, but the charge was amended to accident resulting in death.
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In response to the news, IDEA Travis and Midland ISD issued a joint statement, saying: “IDEA and Midland Independent School District are mourning the loss of an IDEA Travis student following a tragic accident near our school yesterday. Our thoughts and prayers are with the student's family and loved ones. Counselors will provide mental health support For students and staff on campus.As the safety of our students continues to be our first priority, we urge drivers to exercise caution around pedestrians to prevent tragedies.
This news comes after three teenagers were shot in southwest Houston as they returned home Friday night after bowling. They were shot by a twice-deported Salvadoran man with a criminal record who entered the United States illegally “on an unknown date and at an unknown location without inspection or parole by U.S. immigration officials,” according to a statement from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. . One of the teenagers, who was shot in the head, did not survive.
Ortiz Olivas is like millions of others who have entered the United States illegally between ports of entry and deliberately seeking to avoid capture, known as smugglers. Many of them are believed to have criminal histories; The majority are believed to be men of military age, authorities told The Center Square. It is now estimated that more than 2 million people have entered the United States illegally since January 2021, according to data obtained from a Border Patrol agent and Freedom of Information Act records from CBP. Law enforcement officers have no idea how many fugitives are in the United States, or who or where they are.
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Many retired FBI counterintelligence officials have warned of the dangers they pose, including the potential for violent crimes or acts of terrorism.
At a recent press event in Eagle Pass, Texas, Abbott met with 13 Republican governors to express their continued efforts to secure the border. He said President Joe Biden's “open border policies” have had a “devastating impact on every community in our nation.”
We have seen the disastrous consequences of Joe Biden's open border policies. “We see the dangers every day,” Abbott said, adding that Americans “don’t know those imminent dangers we may face.”
Since Abbott launched Operation OLS in March 2021, law enforcement officers have arrested more than 498,300 illegal alien nationals and made more than 39,200 felony arrests, with more than 35,400 felony charges reported, according to the latest data from the governor's office.
They also seized more than 458 million lethal doses of fentanyl, enough to kill more people than anyone in the United States and Canada.
Reprinted with permission from Center Square.
