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Local lawmen slate visit to U.S.-Mexico border

Sheriff, state rep. return to Conchise County, Ariz., for a second tour.

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By Josh Sweigart, Staff Writer 11:51 PM Monday, May 17, 2010

HAMILTON — Two of the biggest advocates of immigration reform in Butler County and Ohio will visit the U.S./Mexico border in the next week to see how big of a problem they’re confronting.

State Rep. Courtney Combs, R-Hamilton, said it’s a dangerous, porous swath of land they’ll be touring at the invitation of Cochise County, Ariz., Sheriff Larry Dever.

Along with Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones, they’ll visit a border patrol checkpoint, see mountainous and desert portions of the border guarded only by old farm fences and other portions with no fences at all.

It’s not far from where a rancher was killed in March by someone suspected of ties to Mexican drug cartels.

It’s the same spot Combs and Jones visited in late 2007. Their goal is to see how the situation has changed since then.

“(We’re told) the number of people coming across the border has decreased, but the ones that are coming are much more violent,” Combs said. “They’re armed, they’re more leaning toward drug trafficking.”

The two also will sit down with farmers and cattle ranchers, and possibly the state senator who put forth the controversial new Arizona law that directs local law enforcement to question and arrest people suspected of being in the country illegally.

Combs and Jones recently called for an Ohio law that “mirrors” that measure, and are pushing for a ballot initiative to do so.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2175 or jsweigart@coxohio.com.

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