By Tracie Sullivan
Rocket Miner
Via- Wyoming News Exchange

ROCK SPRINGS — The southern border crisis, once perceived as a distant issue, has now become an immediate concern for Wyoming, with Sweetwater County experiencing significant impacts.

During a press conference on Monday, Aug. 5, at the Sweetwater County Sheriff ’s Office, Sen. Stacy Jones, R-Rock Springs, and Rep. Tony Niemiec, R-Green River, discussed their recent visit to the southern border and the broader implications of the crisis for Wyoming.

They were joined by Reps. J.T. Larson, R-Rock Springs; Cody Wylie, R-Rock Springs, and Clark Stith, R-Rock Springs. Sweetwater County Sheriff John Grossnickle also participated, providing insights from a law enforcement perspective.

“For those folks who say, ‘This is crazy. Wyoming isn’t a border state,’ all we have to do is look to the north of us from this building and you see Interstate-80. That is the border,” Wylie said. “I know you can ask any of the patrol officers that we have here in our local law enforcement — they deal with cartels off that border, they deal with fentanyl off that border and it all comes from Interstate- 80. So we are a border state.”

Grossnickle provided a sobering account of how the crisis is manifesting locally. He highlighted a troubling increase in fentanyl and human trafficking in Sweetwater County.

“We have had several human trafficking cases here in Sweetwater County that are from people that claim their residency here in Sweetwater County,” he said.

I-80 and Highway 191, he said, have become significant conduits for these criminal activities, turning the region into a key corridor for drug and human trafficking operations.

The sheriff noted that cartels are exploiting these routes extensively, leading to heightened risks for local communities.

“I-80 is an issue, the amount of traffic that we have is unreal. Other sheriffs around the state that aren’t on I-80 don’t understand how busy that interstate is,” Grossnickle said. “What’s unique about Sweetwater County is we also have 191 that goes all the way from Mexico all the way north. We have two major thoroughfares that come through the county.”

Public health concerns are also significant. Jones pointed to threats to food safety from diseases potentially carried by undocumented migrants.

Crops near the southern border face contamination, sometimes leading to the destruction of entire harvests to prevent outbreaks. This poses broader risks to food safety across the nation, Jones said.

“Anytime one of these illegal immigrants enters these fields, the whole crop has to be burned,” Jones said. “And if something happens and they’re unaware of it, (it) could lead to cases we’ve already seen: salmonella in our salad and just a number of issues. So food scarcity is a huge issue for us.”

Jones also addressed supply issues, such as baby car seats, that may affect the U.S. She explained that in Arizona, women must have car seats when leaving the hospital after giving birth. This demand has led to shortages in local stores, as carriers are redirected to border hospitals.

Grossnickle expressed concern over a significant drop in detainees awaiting deportation in the Sweetwater County jail. The number has fallen from 12-14 per week during the Trump administration to just two or three, a change Grossnickle attributes to the current administration’s more lenient deportation policies.

Officials discussed the sophisticated nature of cartel operations. Niemiec described these enterprises as highly organized and wellfunded.

“They are able to hire prior special forces operatives, Mexican special forces operatives, and pay them top dollar,” he said. “And they get the best equipment, better than the Mexican police have, probably better than the Mexican marines have…it’s very organized.”

The individuals crossing the border often become indebted to the cartels, Grossnickle added, perpetuating a cycle of exploitation.

“They bring these workers in and they are taxed (by the cartel) and they are taxed at such a high level. They are taxed for the power they use, the house they live in, the water, and the food. They are basically going to be indentured servants forever because they can never pay this tax off.”

Grossnickle explained that the cartels collect their ‘tax’ by bringing individuals into the U.S., providing for their initial needs, and then exploiting them for cartel activities. This includes drug trafficking, prostitution, child labor, and child trafficking.

Grossnickle also criticized the Biden administration for rolling back certain border safeguards.

Niemiec highlighted the halted progress of the border wall, while Grossnickle noted that Biden is the first president in decades not to advance its construction. Officials said they observed during their border tour materials from the Trump administration that are now deteriorating and going to waste.

“We got to see stacks and stacks of wall material sitting there, it wasn’t as big as it used to be because they’ve been cutting it up and selling it for scrap now,” Niemiec said. “But it was there, ready to be installed before this administration took over and there’s an eight-mile gap of no wall in Yuma.”

Grossnickle also condemned the current administration for ending the DNA testing of children crossing the border, a measure previously used to ensure children were traveling with their parents rather than traffickers.

In response to the challenges at the border, Gov. Mark Gordon announced Monday the deployment of 10 Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers to Texas as part of the American Governors’ Border Strike Force. This initiative aims to bolster border security and address the ongoing crisis.

Additionally, the Wyoming Legislature allocated $750,000 during the last session to support local law enforcement in managing border-related issues, a measure lawmakers emphasized should continue in the future.