End of Year Traffic Expected to Set Record
And, Updating a Deadly Crash & A Legal Win for Operation Lone Star
Good Morning friends,
Personal circumstances saw us some distance away from home without a laptop. Consequently, some of the territory we’re covering may be a bit of old news for some of our readers, but there should be something here for everyone but the most casual of border observers.
Let’s get started with last week’s deadly crash that shut down Highway 90 and resulted in the deaths of at least 5 people.
The crash happened near the Pinto Creek bridge between Brackettville, TX and Del Rio, and was initially said to have killed 3.
Authorities say a driver smuggling illegal aliens lost control, while speeding recklessly, trying to avoid the Texas Department of Public Safety. Kinney County Sheriff Brad Coe was quoted by at least one reporter as saying the driver was swerving to avoid a set of spike strips deployed by DPS.
This is roughly identical stretch of road and bridge to the Sycamore Creek area, that recently saw multiple pileups while the bridge was down to 1-lane as TexDot was held up waiting for materials to do guardrail repairs earlier this year. In at least one case, a group of motorcyclists were plowed into by a truck, resulting in amputations and other serious injuries.
We mention this to underline that the areas around these bridges can be dangerous even without high speed pursuits.
Three of those killed in this latest crash were from Mexico, one was from Venezuela, and the fifth was the American driver.
Readers that have been with us for a while may remember Sheriff Coe recently highlighting the prevalence of young, sometimes underage drivers involved in the smuggling, and how a mix of youth, aggressiveness, and bad driving might contribute to crashes like these. He said it “tops the spooky list,” given the propensity for bad decisions in the younger age groups being recruited by the Cartels on Tik Tok and other social media.
The Sheriff’s been talking a lot lately about the forecast for a very busy month of December. Just a few days of monitoring the Operation Drawbridge cameras concealed on various County Ranches last week showed unusual numbers of illegals on foot going cross-country on private property.
"We are on track to have more than 5500 'got aways' on area ranches," said Sheriff Brad Coe,” a number arrived at by comparing day-to-day averages with what the county’s been seeing in the last several months.
Traditionally, migration slows and even reverses in December, with many Mexicans returning to Mexico for the holidays. Not this year, however, judging not only by the foot traffic, but also the activity on the highways.
So far, the highest December day's single total has been 239.
Meanwhile, Sheriff Coe has raised a few puzzled eyebrows on twitter, telling a reporter from the Washington Examiner that Deputies will soon be running full background checks on individuals they come into contact with. If any individuals are wanted for crimes in the US, the Sheriff’s Office will be contacting the communities where they are wanted, and asking if they want to consider extradition.
One doesn’t expect too many communities to say “yes.” Extradition is a long, involved, and potentially expensive process. But, in cases where authorities might encounter someone wanted for a particularly heinous crime, it remains a possibility.
Historically on the border, most communities have relied on Border Patrol to establish the identities of potentially dangerous illegal border crossers. Most illegals with criminal records give fake names and identities, and Border Patrol has been known to rely on fingerprints, retinal scanners, and other ways of establishing people’s true identities.
And finally this morning— a win at the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which appeared to slap down efforts to take cases away from Kinney County and have them heard in Travis County.
Jolie McCullough from the Texas Tribune has many of the details, calling it a significant win for Governor Greg Abbott and Operation Lone Star.
One of the things about this whole proceeding that made it a sticky thing, was the involvement of the Travis County District Attorney’s Office, which to some eyes and some critics seemed to almost flirt with the position of advocating for those in custody.
It initially escaped our notice, but we’re now told that Travis County DA Jose Garza is the sibling of the attorney that argued before appellate court judges in San Antonio, on behalf of Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid.
Weird!
It probably won’t be anything that arouses the interest of the State bar, but if Caesar’s Wife should be above suspicion, then it seems to us that it is something that should have been more openly disclosed to the public.
And that should do it for now. One of the lingering thoughts as we prepare to edit and proofread, is the fact that there are so many high speed pursuits every night and every day here in Kinney County.
It is honestly a wonder to us, readers, that there haven’t been more deadly crashes similar to the one above.
It is of course, a number that will only increase with time, if immigration remains as it is. And we find ourselves returning to a statement made back in October by County Judge Tully Shahan, speaking off the cuff and unrehearsed at the news conference in Kinney County where area county judges declared a state of invasion.
Referring to the Biden White House, he said, “They could stop all this tomorrow— right this second.” Or words very similar. We’ve slept a few nights since then.
He’s not wrong. It would take more than a half-smirked “Don’t come,” or “the Border’s closed,” which is all we’ve gotten so far from Alejandro Mayorkas and Kamala Harris. But it could be done.
So the question one must ask is why not?
The portion of our thoughts that we jokingly refer to as our “Alex Jones side,” suggests all kinds of possible reasons.
What a ridiculous situation, that the “Alex Jones side” is sounding more and more plausible in the face of the glaring silence or non-serious statements alternately coming from Washington figures.
“Don’t come.” But if you do— look at all this free stuff we have ready and waiting for you. So come— maybe you’ll win the lottery and get to stay. Surely it must be some kind of a lottery— it’s already a gamble that people are taking with their lives, health and wellbeing in trying to get across the border in the first place.
Talk about your mixed messaging. One can highlight the perceived “cruelty” of Operation Lone Star, but it takes a special kind of cynicism and humanitarian disregard to dangle enticements before those thinking of crossing, the way the Administration seems to be doing.
It is truly an upside down world we are in, where “cruelty” may actually be “kindness” and “concern” is only thinly-disguised opportunism and political brinksmanship.
As always, this newsletter is an independent work product, produced without any oversight by Kinney County Officials, and should not be interpreted as any sort of official statement on their behalf.
Have a great morning and we’ll be seeing you again soon.
Apologies to our email readers: This story has been edited to correct the location of the deadly crash to the Pinto Creek bridge, and not the Sycamore. Both bridges are roughly identical spans, crossing mostly dry creek beds on Highway 90 between Del Rio and Kinney County. The Sycamore is the larger, but the accident actually happened near Pinto Creek. And one other correction-- we referred to a "Criminal Court of Appeals," it's actually called the "Texas Court of Criminal Appeals." The distinction is important-- a "Criminal Court of Appeals" implies it's somehow a bunch of crooks sitting as judges. Freudian slip? One hopes not.