03-14-2023 Liberty RoundTable with Sam Bushman

<p>Hour 1<br> * Guest: Brooks County, TX Sheriff Urbino “Benny” Martinez, Sheriff Martinez has served the County of Brooks since 2009 – <a href="http://co.brooks.tx.us/">co.brooks.tx.us</a></p> <p>* Prior to Brooks County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Martinez served as &nbsp;a Texas State Trooper from 1979 until his retirement in 2008, retiring &nbsp;at the rank of Sergeant. During that time, Martinez’ responsibilities &nbsp;spanned from enforcing traffic and criminal laws, investigation of motor &nbsp;vehicle traffic crashes, and providing a visible police presence in his &nbsp;area of responsibility. In 1990, Martinez joined the Narcotics Service &nbsp;of the Department of Public Safety which charged him with the overall &nbsp;direction of the state’s enforcement efforts against illegal drug &nbsp;trafficking in Texas. He played an integral role in identifying and &nbsp;targeting individuals and organizations diverting large quantities of &nbsp;controlled substances for illicit sale while Undercover in the South &nbsp;Texas area until his retirement in 2008.</p> <p>* Since 2012 Brooks County has been in the middle of the busiest &nbsp;corridors for illegal immigration in the US. The flood of rescues and &nbsp;migrant deaths nearly bankrupted the Sheriff’s Office that year, forcing &nbsp;them to cut staff and other necessities, like health insurance and &nbsp;janitorial services.</p> <p>* “It was rough, but we made it through,” Martinez said. “We were &nbsp;able to find help from both sides of the aisle, democrats and republican &nbsp;representatives who really stepped up to the plate and came through for &nbsp;us. The one who is still missing in action is the federal government.”</p> <p>* Sheriff Benny: “I’m talking about this county being classified as a border county to get the resources it needs,”</p> <p>* Brooks County, Texas, Sheriff Benny Martinez testified to the &nbsp;record number of dead bodies his deputies found, over $1 million in &nbsp;costs to the county, hundreds of thousands of dollars in property