Secretary of interior visits Pinal County, talks about collaboration
by Suzanne Adams-Ochrassa | PinalCentral
U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt speaks with a Pinal County deputy and Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb during a tour of Pinal County/PCSD
The U.S. secretary of the interior took a tour of Pinal County with Sheriff Mark Lamb Wednesday, visiting the locations of several camps made by illegal migrants on federal land.
David Bernhardt said he was surprised at the amount of trash and “ecological destruction” at camps that were more than 60 miles from the U.S. border. He said he had seen similar camps and damage near the border but was surprised to see that the damage continued so far north. It was just another example of the need to control the southern U.S. border, he said.
Bernhardt said his office and President Donald Trump are “totally behind law enforcement.” He said he had a good conversation with Lamb and several deputies about how the Interior Department, which includes the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the National Park Service and several other federal agencies, could work with local authorities on combating drug and human smuggling across federal, state and private lands. He said the department already works closely with many tribal police organizations on combating the movement of drugs on tribal lands through its Joint Opioid Task Force.
