The sheriff of Santa Cruz County — along the U.S.-Mexico border — says his office will no longer participate in Operation Stonegarden. That’s the program that gives grants to local law enforcement in exchange for ramped up coordination with Customs and Border Protection.
Stonegarden funds are available to local, tribal and state law enforcement operating along the border. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office began participating in the program years ago. The Pima County Sheriff Department also took part in the program, but withdrew several years ago.
Sheriff David Hathaway says the funding goes toward overtime pay for some deputies and deputies who participate work under the direction of Border Patrol.
“So, if you receive the money, you’re expected to follow the orders of the federal government, which may not fit the priorities for your community,” he said.
Hathaway says he’s long considered pulling out of the program. But changes under the new Trump administration — including a DOJ memo directing prosecutors to investigate local jurisdictions for laws that go against mass deportations — cemented those plans.
Hathaway says the majority of residents in Santa Cruz County’s largest city of Nogales are Latino and most have U.S. citizenship, U.S. residency or visas for work and school. Still, many are on edge amid the Trump administration’s mass deportation plans.
“Even if they are documented, they may fear that we want to look into their status, and that is not our concern, that is not a function of local law enforcement,” he said.
Hathaway says having deputies take direction from federal authorities could force them to do tasks that go against local mandates and priorities of the sheriff’s office. He says the change will take effect immediately. The Nogales Police Department is still apart of the program.