MIDLAND, Texas — Action this week in Midland County.
"It was a pretty easy decision to make," Terry Johnson, Midland County judge said.
Johnson issued a disaster declaration Monday because local resources are stretched thin addressing the border crisis.
"COVID's being brought in across the border," Johnson said. "It is a health crisis to bring that stuff into this county. So we have that, we are already seeing an increase, a tick going upward of crime."
Johnson says Midland's chief of police tells him crimes connected to the border are up, and happening in Midland. The disaster declaration will help them put a stop to it.
"It does take the charges, whether it be trespassing or theft or whatever anybody does, it takes everything up a notch because it is under a governor's declaration of disaster," Johnson said. "This gives a little more bite. It also allows the state to step in a little more, make some beds available or some cells available. We need to stop it right now and we need to stop it down there and the county judges need to stand together as a unified voice with the governor."
Judge Terry Johnson is part of this unified voice now.
"It's taken law enforcement, it's taken our judicial system, our jail system," Johnson said. "It's starting to cost this county money to deal with what we're dealing with at the border."
Next Monday, commissioners will meet in a special meeting to decide whether or not to extend the declaration to the 30 days the governor has issued it.
The county is also hoping to send in a list of budgeted items spent on border related things by Friday.
Reeves County, the other West Texas county housing migrants, issued a disaster declaration about 2 weeks ago.