(FreedomBeacon.com)- Rural Kinney County in Texas has become a major thoroughfare for illegal immigrants trying to avoid apprehension. The county shares just sixteen miles of international border with Mexico but rests between Del Rio and Eagle Pass – two major illegal border-crossing points in Texas.
To combat this influx of illegals, the Kinney Sheriff’s department is getting assistance from the militia group Patriots for America.
Patriots for America founder and president Sam Hall spoke with the Epoch Times last week saying he hopes to have about one hundred militia members deployed in Kinney County by October 26 and anticipates more members will follow.
The militia is self-funded, and its members are taking time off work to join in the effort. Hall anticipates members from Texas, Georgia, and Louisiana will be traveling to Kinney County.
Hall said the militia will operate as a deterrent in high-traffic areas. And while they can’t detain or arrest people, Hall said they can “disrupt and frustrate” until the county or state law enforcement can arrive.
Hall makes it clear that the militia isn’t there to “beat our chests” or start a fight. Instead, they are there to keep the public safe, adding that the militia will not leave Kinney County until that is done.
Sheriff Brad Coe welcomes the help of the Patriots for America. At the same time, he said the Sheriff’s office will be keeping an eye on who they are and from where they are coming. However, Coe believes Hall’s group is “very squared away,” adding that he hopes they will stay in communication with the Sheriff’s office so he knows where the militia is operating.
Sheriff Coe also told the Epoch Times that if the militia sees something, they should not engage, but instead, contact law enforcement. “Don’t start something that they can’t finish or finish wrongly,” Coe said, “because then we’ll really be open to a lawsuit.”
While militias have gotten a bad reputation over the last several decades, Coe believes there is a place for them. However, it must be dealt with delicately “because there’s a fine line between vigilantism and militia.”
