El Paso Shakeup, And Whistleblower Alleges Child Sex Smuggling
And: Just What is "Reverse-Coyote" Culture?
Good Morning friends,
What’s excellent? The weather’s turning cold— it’s starting to look like Winter around here. Can’t speak for anyone else, but we love it. That’s pretty excellent.
In El Paso, things have turned un-excellent for the formerly sitting District Attorney Yvonne Rosales.
Readers may recall us mentioning some of her troubles a short while back:
It’s the 2nd or 3rd item in that particular dispatch.
The new news is that Rosales is out, resigning this week. Jolie McCullough has the details over at the Texas Tribune.
Facing possible removal from office over accusations of incompetence and misconduct, El Paso District Attorney Yvonne Rosales is stepping down.
The rookie prosecutor on Monday submitted her resignation effective Dec. 14, the day before a judge was expected to decide if she should be suspended pending a trial that could oust her from office before her term ends in 2024. During her nearly two years in office, Rosales has been engulfed in a series of scandals over her handling of the border county’s prosecutions.
—Jolie McCullough, Reporting in the Texas Tribune
Follow-on reporting by Molly Smith in El Paso Matters, yesterday, indicates that Rosales did not bother to attend a special hearing that day in the matter of the accused El Paso Wal-Mart mass shooter.
Among the numerous accusations facing Rosales was the proposition that she and her office were bungling the case.
Conservatives and non-conservatives alike should be doing a victory dance. For matters to have reached this point— one can only assume that there was plenty of “smoke” to go along with the “fire” behind these accusations of incompetence, and getting rid of a liability like this in a tremendously important local office can only be construed as a win for taxpayers, citizens, and victims of crime of all stripes. In the long run, this is a win for Rosales’ voters too.
We are talking about basic matters of law and order that have seemingly been put in jeopardy by this fiasco.
Good for El Paso and all the other surrounding Counties.
Another big story this week— one that some reporters may have a little trouble putting their arms around, because of the source:
Project Veritas dropped a bomb online— one that’s blowing up all over the Federal Government, and the State of Texas.
For those who are unfamiliar, Project Veritas is a largely conservative new-media news organization, that specializes in hidden camera investigative reports.
A lot of old-fashioned types, like ourselves, can be a little leery— in the past, Project Veritas has seemed a little long on self-promotion, and a little short on actual delivery.
But, it seems as if this one may be dialed in.
As alarming as their lead-tweet seems— matters may actually be worse. What their whistleblower is alleging is a widespread effort, knowing or unknowing, to allow migrant and illegal alien kids to wind up in the hands of individuals who are turning around and forcing them into sexual slavery— turning tricks for pay.
Watch the video. Please. We’ll resume in just a moment.
We have no idea if Tara Lee Rodas is a legitimate whistleblower. We’ve not been in a position to seriously investigate her claims. But the fact that she’s on camera, not hiding her face, or her name, speaks very strongly to the likelihood of her legitimacy. One does not go on the record and out on a limb like this, without serious conviction.
If you hate video— here’s the link to Project Veritas’ website, and their write-up.
The whistleblower, Tara Lee Rodas, volunteered to assist the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS] with the processing of unaccompanied migrant children and was deployed to the Emergency Intake Site in Pomona, California.
Rodas sat down with Project Veritas founder, James O’Keefe, and described how precarious she believes the current child sponsorship program is for these minors.
“The tax dollars of people who are listening are paying to put children in the hands of criminals,” Rodas told O’Keefe.
“Our sponsors typically are not citizens. They’re not permanent residents. They don’t have a legal presence,” she said.
“The sponsor can hold up an ‘Order of Deportation’ to a [migrant] child and say, ‘This is your Order of Deportation. If you do not do what I say, when I say, I’m going to call ICE on you myself.’ We are paying to put children in the hands of criminals.”
The whistleblower affirmed that she has questioned federal government bureaucrats about the potential wrongdoing happening within their institutions, and the response has usually been dismissive of her concerns. She believes she has suffered retaliation at work for raising these issues.
“I said [to the command center executives], ‘We’re getting ready to send another child [to Austin, Texas],’ and they said, ‘Tara, I think you need to understand that we only get sued if we keep kids in care too long. We don’t get sued by traffickers. Are you clear? We don’t get sued by traffickers.’ So, that was the answer of the United States federal government. HHS did not want this information to get out,” Rodas said.
—Project Veritas
It’s not just Austin. Kids are also getting sent to the sleaziest city in the State— Houston. And if you’ve been following our reporting about just how much Houston sucks, then you know why they’re being sent there.
It ain’t because there’s good people there, ready to take care of them. They’re getting put out on the street, as fresh meat on the hoof for human predators.
This is nothing new for Houston— but it is a vile refinement, and it speaks to something we’ve been saying since the very beginning, about how this border crisis represents a way for the Cartels to convert U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Charitable Organizations, and others into de facto parts of their smuggling operations.
These children are flown all across the country by U.S. taxpayer dollars. Private Citizens have struggled to keep track of even a fraction of the flights. Here’s a link to our past coverage of midnight flights into Westchester, NY, as noted by the New York Post.
Once the kids reach their destination, the cartels are able to reconnect. In some cases, judging by Project Veritas’s reporting, they’re being sent directly to what very well may be Cartel representatives.
Despite whatever excuses have been made about the practices— very little of it has actually passed any sort of truly critical review.
But here we are.
This is a disaster by any measure. It is a fool’s hope, to hope that Project Veritas is utterly and absolutely wrong about this. If even a small percentage of what they are reporting is true, heads should roll in these offices that are supposed to be protecting these children.
Some on twitter seem to believe that this also somehow impacts the Governor’s Office in Austin.
Much has been made of the Governor’s support for privately operated shelters for sex abuse victims.
Back in March, there were efforts to link the Governor to misdeeds at “The Refuge,” a troubled faith-based shelter for sex abuse victims in Bastrop. Long time readers may recall our coverage of things there.
At the time, we shied away from repeating some of the scuttlebutt about Governor Abbott and the First Lady of Texas’ past support for places like the Refuge— judging it a reach too far.
We still feel that same way— but it’s worth noting here, as there may be renewed efforts to drop some portion of this mess in the Governor’s lap— and of course, we could always be wrong about it being a reach too far.
And finally this morning— we teased it Monday, “Reverse-Coyote Culture,” what the heck is it, and just what is Local Wag talking about, when he drops the needle on that?
Well, one of the things that’s been under the radar as the border crisis has progressed, has been a practice of more knowledgeable and familiar figures arranging for guided tours of the border area for people from out of the area that want to discover the truth for themselves, but are concerned about safety, or are concerned about not really getting to see what’s really happening for lack of local knowledge.
We’re not talking about U.S. Congressmen, or similar others coming to the border and being escorted by Sheriff’s deputies, so much as we are speaking of new media, in-experienced journalists, and other interested private citizens.
If you don’t know the border— if you don’t know where to go, or who to talk to, it makes sense to latch onto someone else who does.
In some cases— people are charging fees for escorting folks around the area.
And in some cases, they’re getting lost out in the hinterlands. True story.
We’re also aware of scuttlebutt surrounding one individual who hired a pile of contractors to support their efforts in conducting border crisis tours, and then stiffed them on the bill for their services. No word if any customers were also taken advantage of.
Not all reverse-coyotes are created equal, clearly— and not all are reputable.
In a way— it’s an ironic parallel to some of the uncertainty migrants must face when they approach a coyote in Mexico. They have to trust that the person will deliver. That they won’t take the money and run. That it won’t be a costly waste of their time and effort.
We probably shouldn’t do this— but if you’re reading this, thinking about coming to the area— and are willing to pay for a reverse-coyote, contact us before you hand over any money.
We won’t be able to escort you ourselves— but there’s a small chance we’ve heard of whomever you’re dealing with and can give you some additional guidance.
You may think there’s something “icky” about the whole idea of “border crisis tours,” and you’re not alone. But after some thought, it makes sense why some would want to verify for themselves, after all the months of being told there is no crisis, that the border is secure, and so forth.
That should do it for now folks— have a great morning. We’re coming up on the last half of the week. It’s time for us all to finish up strong, and really nail whatever it is that’s in front of us.
We’ll see you again soon, as always this newsletter is private production, and is put out into the world without any oversight or connection to our day job at the Kinney County Sheriff’s Office.
Any errors, boneheaded takes, conspiracy theorizing, or other misdeeds committed here are entirely our own, and should not be mistaken for official county statements. We say all this in the spirit of full disclosure, and to stay in keeping with the County’s policies regarding social media.
Thanks for reading— we hope it’s been informative, insightful, or at least just amusing.
Where there's money to be made or a job to secure there will be shenanigans. Worst part, those who should care - don't - because they are on the dole as well. Thanks.