Sheriff talks rise of illegal migrants, crime in Ector County

ECTOR COUNTY, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- Ector County Sheriff Mike Griffis said he’s seen an influx of people living in the country illegally in Ector County and that his deputies, along with other law enforcement agencies across the Basin, have also seen a rise in crime associated with those illegal migrants.

“We at the Ector County Sheriff’s Office, I’m sure as well as the PD and other agencies locally, have worked many cases involving illegal immigrants from various countries, many from Cuba. I’m not racial profiling, I’m just telling you the facts,” Griffis said. “We don’t care if these people come over here and do it legally, but you’re not going to come over here and break the law because if you do, we’re going to put you in jail.”

Griffis said crime has risen locally especially with violent crimes and crimes involving theft.

“We recovered a million dollars’ worth of (stolen oilfield) equipment from a Cuban individual out west of town. Construction equipment…we’ve had murders that have been committed by individuals from other countries that are here illegally. And we are not going to put up with it. We’re going to hunt you down,” Griffis said. “We did have a rancher in south Ector County that found a $50,000 horse dead in his pasture that had been butchered as if you would butcher a cow. We cannot prove who killed that horse at this time but when we do, they’re going to jail.”

Griffis said this same crime wave is happening all across America and he attributed it all to President Joe Biden’s border policies.

“A country with no borders is no country at all. This is not a political issue, this is a safety issue for the American public,” Griffis said. “We don’t care who you are or where you came from…if you’re coming over here to cause trouble, you’re going to see one of these guys with a badge and you’re going to find yourself in handcuffs.”

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