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ZAPATA COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
TEXAS HOUSE
Local emergency dispatcher honored Martinez receives Distinguished Professional Award
Eric Gay / AP
Texas lawmaker claims to seek officials who refuse to help enforce federal immigration law in Texas.
‘Sanctuary city’ ban approved
By César G. Rodriguez TH E ZAPATA T IME S
Maricela Martinez, of the Zapata County Sheriff’s Office, was recently honored with the Distinguished Professional Award during the South Texas 911 Appreciation Luncheon and Awards Ceremony at La Posada Hotel. Organizers said the Distinguished Professional Award was given to people who have consistently upheld an exemplary level of professionalism in their work. These individuals are model professionals that possess the qualities we hope to see in administrators and call takers: empathy, kindness, compassion and composure, according to organizers. “I think getting the award means that I, as a 911 telecommunicator, am doing my job to the best of my ability. I am very honored in getting this award,” Martinez said. “I speak for myself when I say we dispatchers are the voice for our citizens with sending them an officer and at the same time, we Dispatcher continues on A8
Bill allows the state to withhold government funds By Will Weissert ASSOCIATED PRE SS
Courtesy photo / Zapata County Sheriff’s Office
Maricela Martinez and Sheriff’s Office Chief Raymundo Del Bosque Jr. recently posed for a photo. Martinez was honored with the Distinguished Professional Award during the South Texas 911 Appreciation Luncheon and Awards Ceremony on April 19 in Laredo.
AUSTIN, Texas — The Republican-controlled Texas House approved early Thursday a strict ban on “sanctuary cities” in the country’s second-largest state, seeking to empower law enforcement to enforce federal immigration law against anyone they detain and threatening to jail police chiefs and sheriffs who refuse to do so. The vote came just before 3 a.m. and followed 15-plus hours of heated, sometimes tearful debate, much of it from outnumbered Democrats.
The bill would allow Texas to withhold funding from county and local governments for acting as sanctuary cities — even as the Trump administration’s efforts to do so nationally have hit roadblocks. Other Republican-led states have pushed for similar polices, but Texas would be the first in which police chiefs and other officials could face criminal charges and be removed from office for not helping enforce immigration law. The proposal is needed to “keep the public safe and remove bad people from the street,” said Republican Rep. Charlie GeSanctuary continues on A8
NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION
PRESIDENT SUPPORTS GUN RIGHTS Trump to NRA: You have a friend in the White House By Jonathan Lemire ASSOCIAT ED PRE SS
A
David Goldman / AP
Top: Citizens in Baltimore watch on a television as the president speaks at the National Rifle Association's annual convention in Atlanta. Bottom: Protesters gather across the street from the National Rifle Association's annual convention in Atlanta on Friday.
TLANTA — President Donald Trump reaffirmed his support for gun rights Friday, telling attendees of a National Rifle Association convention that "the eight-year assault on your Second Amendment freedoms has come to a crashing end." Trump, the first sitting president to address the group's annual convention in more than 30 years, assured the audience that he would defend their right to bear arms in a campaign-like speech reminiscent of his election rallies. "You have a true friend and champion in the White House," he said. The president's trip to Atlanta also served as his first foray into a congressional race since taking office. After delivering his NRA remarks, the president headed to a private fundraiser for Republican
congressional candidate Karen Handel, who is running in a special congressional race that has become a national referendum on his presidency. During the speech, the president congratulated Handel and urged Republicans to support her. "She's totally for the NRA, and she's totally for the Second Amendment, so get out and vote," he said. Trump has been a champion of gun rights and supportive of NRA efforts to loosen restrictions on gun ownership. During the campaign, he promised to do away with President Barack Obama's efforts to strengthen background checks and to eliminate gun-free zones at schools and military bases. The last president to address an NRA convention was Ronald Reagan, who spoke to the 1983 gathering, according to the powerful gun rights lobby. Trump continues on A8