A monthslong fight over Pima Countyβs acceptance of a federal border-security grant might be somewhat moot, since the Sheriffβs Department has been spending the money while the Board of Supervisors continues to wrestle with the decision.
In February, the Pima County Board of Supervisors reversed an earlier decision to reject roughly $1.4 million in Operation Stonegarden funding, which covers overtime, mileage and equipment costs for the Sheriffβs Department in an effort to encourage collaboration between local and federal law enforcement agencies.
At the time, Supervisor RamΓ³n Valadez, who previously voted against accepting the funding, changed his vote and approved the funds with the implementation of five conditions: That all employee-related expenses associated with the grant be completely covered, the establishment of a new grant coordinating process for federal funds like Stonegarden, tracking of the financial impacts on other elements of the criminal justice system, development of a formal policy regarding deputy interactions with federal officers and the creation of a new committee to look at the issue of racial profiling.
In March, the supervisors delayed approval of a separate grant through the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program, saying that the Sheriffβs Department had not yet met the conditions associated with accepting the Stonegarden funding. At the time, Pima County Sheriff Mark Napier said that his department had met the conditions and that tying Stonegarden to HIDTA wasnβt good public policy, since the two grants are separate and distinct.
As spring turned to summer, public outcry over federal immigration activities reached a fever pitch with the separation of families at the border and thousands of children being taken to immigration detention facilities across the country.
Supervisor Richard ElΓas said the situation changed when President Trump made the issue a focus of his agenda and started using law enforcement for political ends, causing some of the supervisors to rethink whether the county should accept the Stonegarden funds.
βI worry about the sheriffs, I want to support them,β ElΓas told the Star on Thursday. βI want people to believe that (the deputies) are on their side.β
By accepting Stonegarden funding and allowing ICE representatives into the jail, ElΓas worries that the Sheriffβs Department is hurting its credibility with the public.
βWe ultimately canβt control the Sheriffβs Department, but we can try to ensure that theyβre acting in the best interest of everyone living here,β ElΓas said.
And while ElΓas said that he doesnβt believe Napier to be a bigot, he said he finds the sheriffβs lack of transparency over his use of the funds to be troubling, saying that he became aware the department was using the money last week, but not from the sheriff himself, who has failed to mention that fact during months of public discussions in board meetings and with the community.
βWeβve been having conversations all summer with the public about this,β ElΓas said. βWhere did we become disconnected?β
However, since approving the Stonegarden funding, the supervisors have not taken any formal action to suspend the contract. As of Friday, the department had spent $564,972 of the grant money, Napier said.
ElΓas acknowledged signing the contract with the Department of Homeland Security in February after the supervisors voted to approve the funding but said he believed Napier stopped using the funds once the supervisors decided earlier this summer to vote again on the issue.
βWe can act with candor and be honest about where we stand,β ElΓas said. βThis is a really good discussion and itβs critical that it takes place.β
That vote has since been delayed several times and is scheduled to take place during the Sept. 4 meeting.
When the Star spoke to Napier about potential repercussions of the delay, he said the department had been operating under the assumption that the funding would be approved and that officials were preparing the application for the next round of Stonegarden grants, which Napier said would likely include even more money.
The supervisorsβ procrastination in accepting this yearβs grant could put the status of next yearβs application in jeopardy, Napier said, and if the board votes to reject the funding, the federal government could ask for equipment back.
βRejection of the funds is saying that the plight of the undocumented and the mission of public safety would be better served if the Pima County Sheriffβs Department was not there,β Napier said. βThe money doesnβt go away, itβs reallocated to other counties.β
The county has been accepting Stonegarden grants for the past 12 years without hesitation and has received roughly $10 million in overtime funding and $6 million for equipment, Napier said.
The funding allows the department to deploy deputies to under-served and remote areas in the county, but doesnβt require the department to proactively enforce immigration laws. If PCSD isnβt patrolling those areas, itβs likely that additional federal or state employees would be sent to the area, with the county being unable to exercise any control over either of those entities, Napier said.
If the county rejects the funds, it will also lose its seat βat the tableβ when it comes to discussions about immigration and law enforcement, which would be a significant loss, Napier said.
βWhen we remove ourselves from participation, thereβs no longer any reason to listen to us,β he said.
Thereβs a clear connection between public safety and the departmentβs involvement in Stonegarden, with the influx of drugs coming across the border representing a serious public safety and public health crisis, with human and sex trafficking in the remote areas of the county also representing legitimate public safety concerns, Napier said.
βThis is literally free money,β Napier said. βLocally, things are better than ever before.β
The Sheriffβs Department has been engaging in talks with the ACLU and increasing communication on the issue with concerned citizen groups, Napier said.
But while Napier says that things are better than ever before, ElΓas has the opposite opinion.
βMy community is scared,β ElΓas said. βThis strikes at the heart of the borderlands and how weβve lived for centuries.β
