Attorney General Paxton visits
By Jessica Coleman
Staff Writer
On Monday, May 24, hundreds of Jackson and Victoria county residents gathered in the Inez Community Center to hear Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his staff speak and answer questions about illegal immigration and the Texas-Mexico border. U.S. Representative Michael Cloud was also in attendance. Cloud represents Texas District 27 which includes both Jackson and Victoria Counties.
The event opened with a prayer by Vanderbilt Pastor Jack Hutson, the US and Texas Pledges of Allegiance, and an anecdote by Jackson County Judge Jill Sklar about her experience as a child, watching undocumented immigrants cross through the land her family hunted on.
“My first memories are not of watching deer and turkeys but of watching illegal immigrants cross through the pastures that I was hunting in,” she said, “And I only bring that up to say that my experience as a child is way different than what we are seeing today, and we all need to be prepared for what we’re going to do if it happens to be in our backyard or our front yard.” She continued with a thank you and a warning.
“General Paxton, thank you for coming and bringing attention to this matter. It is very important to know how we are going to respond, because these folks, they’re dangerous, they’re evil, and they have little regard for human life as we have seen in many, many accounts over and over.” Paxton harshly criticized the Biden Administration’s handling of the state of immigration and holding facilities at the border, as well as the halted construction of former President Trump’s famous border wall. He pointed out to the crowd that his office has filed five lawsuits against the present administration, one of which came just three days into President Biden’s term.
First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster criticized the monetary cost of detention facilities at the border, particularly those holding children.
“Let me give you an example of cost,” he said. “We got to get into the Donna facility with General Paxton and we got to see where they’re housing these children. It costs- these children, by the way, they have video games. They have television. They have internet. They’re talking to their cartel buddies. They’re online on the phone all day, and every day they’re there each one of those children, it costs the united states $750 a day to house them.”
Questions from the audience ranged what the State of Texas can do, and what recourse individuals have in order to defend themselves and their property. Deputy Attorney General for Criminal Justice Josh Reno fielded legal questions about protecting humans and property and when lethal force can be used.
In short, he said Texans may use deadly force to defend themselves if someone is actively attempting to enter their home or poses an immediate threat to their safety. It is not, he stressed, legal to shoot someone simply for being on your property, and to call law enforcement in that scenario. Jackson County Sheriff Andy Louderback thanked Paxton for making the trip to Inez, and offered words of encouragement to the crowd, and closed with suggestions for the role individuals can play.
“Contact your law enforcement. If you’ll watch your property, and you’ll let us know when your license plates are stolen, if you’ll contact us immediately if you have people on your property. If someone tries to break into your home, and you are in imminent and otherwise unavoidable danger of death or serious bodily injury, that’s a shoot situation.
“That’s a shoot situation,” he repeated, over applause from the crowd. “Imminent and otherwise avoidable danger of death or serious bodily injury. Write that down. If you want to get with me later, I’ll tell it to you again. We can win this if we come together.”