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Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez served four terms as the chief law enforcement officer in Val Verde County, Texas, a vast rural area shared 110 miles by the Mexican border. This is the position his father dreamed of holding before he died at the age of 51. Martinez says his father, a staunch Democrat, raised him and his nine siblings to serve their community.
Martinez describes himself as “Catholic and pro-life and pro-gun.” He is also loyal to his father’s party. His connections in Val Verde County repeatedly propelled him to office with support from both Democrats and Republicans. But Martinez’s victory is less certain this year because some in Val Verde County don’t think he’s tough enough on immigration — even though border enforcement isn’t the local sheriff’s job.
This short documentary follows Joe Frank and his brothers, David and Leo Martinez, as they grapple with immigration tensions in Del Rio, nearly three hours south of San Antonio. Martinez’s run for office offers a glimpse into how new immigration patterns along the U.S.-Mexico border have coincided with, if not conditioned, a shift in attitudes among voters who live there. Some communities previously considered Democratic strongholds have turned red, a trend fueled by Republican efforts to court Latinos.
The effort is changing politics in Val Verde County. He convened a political action committee Project Red TX endorsed a candidate named Rogelio “Roger” Hernandez to run against Martinez. Since 2018, the PAC has been recruiting and financially supporting Republican candidates in local elections in border districts with a majority of Latinos. This year, she endorsed 50 local candidates, including three in Val Verde County. Signs of Hernández with his slogan to “bring order to the border” appeared all over the city.
As border towns take center stage in the national immigration debate, how will that affect Del Rio? Check out this daily short film presented by ProPublica in partnership with The Texas Tribune and dig into it while reading this story.
Lisa Riordan Sevilla, Mauricio Rodríguez Pons, Liz Maughan and Kathy Campbell participated in the production.
