14 Judges.
The ENTIRE Texas border.
We get excited about a bi-partisan moment, especially when it unifies the entire Texas border. Elected county judges from EVERY county along the Texas-Mexico border are calling on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to coordinate more closely with local officials.
The 14 judges who serve as the chief elected officials and emergency management leads for their counties sent a letter on April 21 to DHS Sec. Markwayne Mullin urging consistent communication and early coordination before major infrastructure decisions move forward.
Their message comes as federal plans for the Big Bend region have shifted repeatedly in recent months, leaving landowners, residents, and local officials uncertain about what infrastructure is being built, where it will go, and how it will impact communities across the region.
“This is not a partisan issue. It is a practical one,” Judge “Jojo” MacKenzie from Hudspeth County wrote in an op-ed in the Austin American-Statesman. “As county judges, we sit at the intersection of federal policy and local impact. We know the terrain, the people and the realities of daily life along the border.”
In their letter, the judges emphasized that they support effective border security but warned that one-size-fits-all approaches risk harming communities if implemented without local input. They are requesting:
- Consistent communication with border county judges
- Early coordination with local officials and landowners
- Flexibility in how border security is implemented across regions
- Protections for private land access, water resources, and agricultural operations