A Texas sheriff apologized for holding an immigration panel to address concerns from the community's Latino population, insisting that he supports both the state and the Trump administration.
Sheriff Larry Smith of the Smith County Sheriff's Office explained that he decided to hold the panel after hearing that some individuals in the Hispanic community were afraid to send their kids to school, go to work or attend church, as reported by KETK.
"I am but a mortal human being who strives to always do what is right. That does not mean by any stretch of the imagination that I am exempt from making mistakes. In a rush to try to make matters better, unfortunately I made some of those matters worse," Smith said in a statement.
During the Feb. 6 panel, Smith had pledged to not set out looking for undocumented immigrants in the community unless they had committed a crime. The sheriff emphasized at the panel that law enforcement was there to keep the community "from being scared," CBS 19 reported.
"All of the immigrants that are here, whether they're here, undocumented, documented, legitimate citizens, if they need law enforcement services, we do not want them to not call because they're afraid of deportation or whatever," Smith said at the panel.
In his apology to the community, Gov. Greg Abbott, Border Czar Tom Homan and President Donald Trump, Smith said that he fully supports "the arrest and deportation of these violent criminals who threaten the safety and security of our communities."
The sheriff added that once the 287g program, which enables U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to work with local law enforcement to carry out immigration officer functions, is reinstated, his office plans to assist and help ICE reach their goals.
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