Sheriff Paul Penzone concerned about speed of National Guard rollout

PHOENIX — Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone expressed concerns that the rollout of National Guard troops to the border might have happened too quickly for officials to complete a comprehensive strategy.

“It’s great to get additional resources,” he told Mac & Gaydos on KTAR News 92.3 FM on Tuesday.

“You just want to make sure that both logistically and operationally that you are singing from the same sheet of music.”

President Donald Trump announced he planned to send National Guardsmen to the border on April 4. Last week, Arizona sent more than 300 troops to the border.

Other border states including Texas and New Mexico have also agreed to send National Guard forces.

Penzone said he was somewhat surprised it happened so quickly.

“If tomorrow, another sheriff’s office said ‘…Hey, we’re going to dump 100 of our guys into your county to help you out with some things, I’m going to be concerned,” Penzone said.

The existing force would be tasked with training the incomers, assigning roles and communicating aspects such as expectations and limitations of the roles.

When National Guard troops patrolled the border for the Bush and Obama administrations, they were not allowed to apprehend or make direct military involvement with any potential border crosser. Because of this, forces focused on surveillance and installing fences and barriers while reporting activity to federal agents.

Penzone said this learning curve “can’t happen overnight.”

Strategies must be planned and disseminated throughout employees of all levels to maximize safety and effectiveness.

“If it’s taken place, then that’s great,” Penzone said. “But if it has not yet, what you don’t want to do is put people in place and figure it out as you go.”

He said he’s not in a position to support or oppose the plan because he isn’t the sheriff of a border county, but even Maricopa County recognizes the challenges that come from immigration.

The United States is the No. 1 consumer of illicit drugs in the world, Penzone said. He called the importation of drugs from over the border “far more aggressive, dangerous” than people entering the country illegally.

However, public safety dictates consistency in upholding laws.

“I have a great amount of empathy for anyone coming from a nation where the trials and tribulations are beyond my capacity … but it doesn’t mean that circumventing the laws is an acceptable practice,” he said.

Penzone thinks there is some urgency to fix the border, which he called “porous.” However, it’s not a new issue. Time permits troops to “crawl before we walk.”

He doesn’t think deployment needs to be rushed.

“You just want to make sure that you’ve worked out the kinks prior to implementation as opposed to implementing and then have something go wrong that you can’t undo,” Penzone said.

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