New Officer Relays Regional Concerns

As the most recent elected officer of the Far West Texas County Judges and Commissioners Association, I have been asked to write an article on issues relating to Far West Texas. As you are aware, this covers a vast range of subjects. There is one issue that is of vital importance to the border counties, and Presidio County in particular. This, of course, is border security and how it relates to border counties and ultimately the state of Texas.
Since 9/11 and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), I have noticed that the agencies under Homeland Security have withdrawn from participation in local community affairs. As a retired deputy chief patrol agent with 35 years of government service with the U.S. Border Patrol, this is most troubling to me. It was most evident in the last election in the city of Presidio. One of the candidates for mayor, an employee of DHS, was denied permission to run for mayor, a nonpartisan office. In the past, some of our most qualified officeholders were federal employees. We have had mayors, city councilmen, and members of our school boards who have provided a very important service to the communities in which they live. At the same time that one employee was denied permission, another employee was allowed to run and was elected to the Marfa Independent School Board, another nonpartisan office.
One other related concern is the proposed border fence. As you know, this is a very hot topic in the Rio Grande Valley. What you might not know is that DHS is planning to fence the border in downtown Presidio. I, along with the Presidio County Commissioners Court, have joined the Presidio City Council in opposing this. The concept of fencing the border is being opposed by virtually every elected official in the border area. Yet, it goes forward. I do not understand an agency and its members that would forge ahead with a project that is not favored by the citizens they profess to protect. I guess it’s a case of “big brother knows best.”
The last issue that is of concern from Brownsville to San Diego is the wait time for cars entering the United States from Mexico. On Sundays, the wait from Ojinaga to Presidio is about three hours. This is a concern all along the border. I’ve also had calls from concerned citizens wanting to know about getting passports so they can cross the border, and I have been told that the wait time to apply for a passport can be up to three months. The city of Presidio is very concerned about the long wait at the border and how the delay in obtaining a passport will affect their economy. At present, the city is reporting a loss of about 3 percent in sales tax.
The concerns I have mentioned affect all of us who reside in the border area and will have to be addressed soon.
Judge Agan has served as Presidio County judge for the past seven years. He is married to Elvia Vargas Agan and has one daughter residing in Austin. Judge Agan is currently chairperson for the Rio Grande Council of Governments Criminal Justice and First Responders Committees. He is a past president of the Rio Grande Council of Governments Board of Directors and is a member of the Executive Board of the Texas Association of Regional Councils. He is also a graduate of the Texas Association of Counties Leadership Training.
Prior to running for county office, he retired from the U.S. Border Patrol as deputy chief patrol agent for the Marfa Sector.
By Presidio County Judge Jerry Agan, newly elected Secretary/Treasurer of the Far West Texas County Judges and Commissioners Association