El Paso County sheriff candidates talk key challenges they seek to address

The Democratic and Republican candidates vying to be El Paso County's next sheriff both tout their law enforcement experience in their campaigns, though neither has worked in the office they're aiming to lead for at least the next four years.

Oscar Ugarte, who defeated five candidates to win the Democratic primary, faces Republican Minerva Torres Shelton, who ran unopposed in the primary, in the Nov. 5 general election. The winner will replace longtime Democratic Sheriff Richard Wiles, who is retiring at the end of his term in December.

Torres Shelton, 56, has 26 years of law enforcement experience. She retired from the FBI as a supervisory special agent and previously served as a police officer for five years.

"You need an outsider – an outsider who is experienced," Torres Shelton said, adding that any changes that might need to be implemented will be done across the board and will apply to everyone equally. "I don't have any built-in relationships in the Sheriff's Office. I don't have loyalties."

Ugarte, 41, has about 21 years of law enforcement experience, including seven as a constable, two as a police officer and others as a court bailiff. He said his experience the past seven years will help him easily transition into the sheriff's role, which he sees as an administrative one.

"Every year, I do budget proposals, I do hiring, I do firing, I do policies," Ugarte said, adding that the constable's office follows many of the same processes as the Sheriff's Office, because both are county agencies. "I have the same resources that the Sheriff's Office has."

In Texas, constables have the same powers as other peace officers, such as police and sheriff, and can enforce criminal and traffic laws.

Ugarte said he has been talking with the El Paso County Sheriff's Officers Association to get a sense for the morale of the department. "The most important asset that you have is going to be your staff, and you've got to make sure that your staff feel valued," he said.

The next sheriff will be tasked with not just leading the office, but will oversee a $122 million budget and nearly 1,000 employees, including deputies, detention officers and civilian staff. The office oversees everyday policing and patrols, criminal investigations, drug detection programs and jail administration.

The Sheriff's Office has also been drawn into immigration issues as the state attempts to extend the power to arrest undocumented migrants to local law enforcement and county jails see an increased number of migrants being detained there.

Additionally, rising concerns over drunk driving countywide have put the spotlight on law enforcement response, making the topic a key election issue.

The winning candidate will take office in January and serve a four-year term. The position now pays just over $190,000 a year.

Here's what the two candidates had to say about how they would manage some top issues of the job.

Migrants, immigration and Tren de Arangua

One issue Torres Shelton has campaigned on involves Tren de Aragua, the Venezuelan gang that some Republicans, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, claim has taken over neighborhoods in El Paso, which they call "ground zero."

The El Paso mayor, county attorney and the district attorney, who is Republican, have disputed that characterization, but Torres Shelton in a Sept. 19 Instagram campaign video states that the gang "has terrorized residents, taken over apartments and committed crimes in other communities."

"Tren de Aragua is happening. I come from the FBI. Right before I retired, I was in charge of the Joint Terrorism Task Force," she told El Paso Matters. "I wish I could tell you that everybody who comes across is people who need help and who want to make a better living, and they're coming to America because they want a better life. We do have people like that, but we also have bad actors coming over here. So, I'm not making something up. It's because of my experience."

Ugarte acknowledged some members of the Tren de Aragua gang may be in El Paso, but disagreed with the notion that the gang is taking over parts of the city.

"They were isolated cases Downtown. Like any other gang we need to keep an eye on them, but in talking with other law enforcement agencies, they have not been a major issue," Ugarte said.

He said claims to the contrary are political posturing.

Immigration issues will continue to impact the work of the Sheriff's Office, which may have to contend with a new Texas law that allows local law enforcement officers to arrest and deport migrants who may have entered the country illegally. Senate Bill 4 was approved in 2023 but has been blocked by the courts pending lawsuits by the U.S. Department of Justice, the ACLU – and El Paso County itself.

Ugarte said he does not agree with SB4, but if it goes into effect, he would consult with the county attorney for training. He said enforcing the law would not be a priority.

"I believe that that law is going to create a bigger wedge between law enforcement and the community," he said. "We don't have the resources and it's not good – especially for a border town."

Ugarte said the impact of SB4 could be that less crime gets reported in the areas of the county they are trying to better serve.

Torres Shelton said she doesn't support SB4 being used to stop or detain anyone, but previously told CBS 4 News that she supports the law as a tool for law enforcement.

"The only way – if SB4 survives – the only way that I will allow it to be used if it's in the commission of a crime," she said. "If we were using it to stop people, I'd be stopped all the time because I'm Hispanic, I would probably fit that profile. So, no, I would never use it that way."

Jail funding, compliance

Torres Shelton said the impact of the state's arrests of migrants who are being placed in the county jail is costing taxpayers money. She said she wants to meet with lawmakers at the state and federal level to find funding to cover the cost.

The Downtown jail and the Eastside jail annex together are at 94% capacity, according to a County Commissioners Court presentation. In September, more than 70% of those inmates were state arrests classified under Operation Lone Star. The state doesn't pay the county to house suspects arrested in Operation Lone Star.

About 3% of the population was federal inmates – a key source of income for the county since the federal government pays the county $101 per day for housing those inmates. In 2020, the federal inmate population was about 30%.

That has led to a loss of federal revenue of about $11 million in the current fiscal year , county budget documents show. The county had not tapped into Operation Lone Star resources because it had not issued a disaster declaration over the migrant influx as required by the state. The county judge in July issued the declaration in response to an increase in migrant arrests by Texas state troopers in hopes of recouping jail and court costs associated with the arrests. Reimbursements or possible grant awards are pending.

"They need to pay their fair share for detaining them in our detention facilities because right now, it's the community of El Paso, who is paying for that and it's not fair," Torres Shelton said.

Ugarte said the county is losing funding, but it is the county's responsibility to take care of the inmates. He also said part of the problem is that there is a backlog of inmates that have not been tried.

"We have to take care of everyone that is incarcerated," adding the county needs to find ways to get reimbursed from the state. "The problem is bigger than just the jail and incarceration."

The Downtown county jail has faced compliance issues the past two years, including in January, when the Texas Commission on Jail Standards found jailers failed to make face-to-face observations during wellness checks following a gang-related murder of an inmate in November 2023. The jail was listed as compliant after they regained compliance.

The commission also found detention officers failed to provide care when an inmate displayed signs of medical distress in 2022 after an inmate died of an esophageal rupture caused, in part, by methamphetamine and fentanyl, according to a KTEP investigation .

Torres Shelton said any time there are deaths in custody there is a potential for lawsuits against the county. She said while she wants to do an evaluation of procedures, she wants to use technology in the way of video surveillance in high-risk areas to begin with while working to get funding for the entire jail.

"That's one of the things that I want to do, is, again, look at the policies, to see what is happening," adding there has been a lack of transparency under the current administration.

Ugarte said he wants to provide more training to detention officers and increase the size of academies to get more officers in the jails. He said he would have to get funding approved by the County Commissioners Court, but would advocate for it.

"(That way) they can provide adequate services to these inmates, and make sure that nothing happens, make sure that detention officers are kept safe, and make sure that the inmates that we're responsible for are also kept safe," Ugarte said.

He also said he wants to review the staffing tables for the jails and coverage areas to determine how many more deputies would be required to properly provide services to the growing county.

Addressing DWIs

Both candidates said they're concerned about driving while intoxicated cases within the county.

Ugarte said the Sheriff's Office needs a DWI task force to be installed to help address the problem. He said the challenge will be funding such a unit in 2025 since the county's budget has already been adopted for the current fiscal year.

Ugarte said he wants to see where the DWI arrests are occurring and use traffic officers to put on those night shifts to enforce DWI patrols.

"We need to have a balance," he said.

He said he thinks the Sheriff's Office has 12 traffic units and while some could be out on night shifts in regular patrol cars enforcing DWIs, the rest could be in the morning during the rush hour enforcing basic traffic laws to avoid accidents.

Torres-Shelton said she wants to develop a traffic enforcement team that is highly visible in the county and she would reallocate existing resources to fund it.

She said she wants to see where patrols are being conducted and establish where there need to be more officers assigned to address DWI patrols.

"I'm going to make decisions based on that, but this is the number one issue that keeps coming up, and I will implement a traffic enforcement team so they are more visible," she said, adding drivers are more cautious when they see marked units on the roads.