Sheriffs live with the real-world consequences of decisions made in Washington every day. We welcomed the depth of the New York Times’s recent 4,000-word opus on the Biden administration’s border failures, appropriately titled, “How Biden Ignored Warnings and Lost Americans’ Faith in Immigration.”
But let’s be honest: This reporting is years late. Sheriffs — Democrats, Republicans, and independents — were sounding the alarm in real time, pleading for national attention while the crisis escalated right before our eyes. Had the New York Times investigated these failures with urgency when they were unfolding, more Americans and more migrants would be alive today.
In July 2022, sheriffs hosted New York Times reporters on a border tour so they could see what we see: ranch roads littered with abandoned clothing, stash houses hiding terrified migrants, and makeshift graveyards marking lives lost to desperation and false promises. The same tragedy appeared in our own reporting: At least 856 migrants died at our southern border in fiscal 2022, the deadliest year on record.
To sheriffs, those aren’t statistics. They are fathers, daughters, toddlers in diapers — human beings who deserved better than to be exploited by cartels and failed by federal indifference.
Meanwhile, fentanyl and illegal drugs flooded into our hometowns, killing hundreds of thousands of Americans. Sheriffs across the nation have stood beside grieving families who lost children to pills they never knew were lethal. We’ve watched human trafficking surge, young people prostituted by cartel networks, and criminal organizations grow wealthier than ever imagined.
Sheriffs such as Joe Frank Martinez of Val Verde County, Texas, practically begged the nation to listen in 2021. With just four deputies covering 110 miles of border, he wrote in USA Today, “We need help.” His plea was not political. It was a desperate warning from a front line stretched beyond belief.
Today, the New York Times admits what sheriffs warned years ago: Federal leaders underestimated the crisis and reacted far too slowly. But acknowledging it now, years after the damage, is not enough. That brings me to the issues the New York Times should be reporting on right now, before they become the next tragedy it recognizes too late.
1. Fix the mental health crisis in America’s jails
Sheriffs operate the largest mental-health institutions in the country: our jails. We are not designed to be treatment centers, yet every day we house people in deep crisis with nowhere else to go. Without reform, the cycle continues: untreated illness, rearrest, repeat. If the New York Times wants to save lives, it should start reporting this story immediately.
2. Modernize reentry with the IGNITE model
Our IGNITE program provides education, skills training, and hope to inmates before they return home. When reentry fails, communities pay the price in crime, addiction, and broken families. When reentry succeeds, everyone wins. This is a national story that has been hiding in plain sight.
3. Fix NG911 and America’s failing emergency communications
Communications systems remain outdated, fractured, and in many places dangerously unreliable. Deputies cannot protect the public if lifesaving information is delayed or lost. Modernizing NG911 will save countless lives, but only if Washington acts.
4. Reverse the recruitment and retention crisis
America is facing the most severe law-enforcement staffing shortage in modern history. Fewer deputies mean slower response times, rising crime, and burned-out officers. The country cannot stay safe without a stable, supported workforce.
5. Strengthen public safety through critical drone reforms
Malicious drones now drop contraband into jails, surveil officers, disrupt emergency operations, and threaten stadiums and major events. With the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics ahead, Congress must finalize the unmanned aircraft authority so front-line agencies can detect, track, and stop dangerous drones. These overdue reforms in the National Defense Authorization Act give law enforcement essential, life-saving tools.
6. Improve intelligence sharing across all levels of law enforcement
Cartels operate internationally. Criminal networks move across state lines. Yet information too often stops at jurisdictional boundaries. We need seamless intelligence sharing at local, state, federal, and even international levels to prevent the next wave of violence.
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These issues are not abstract policy debates. They shape whether our communities thrive or fracture, whether families are safe or shattered. So to the New York Times: Start investigating these crises now. Don’t wait until you are writing another retrospective explaining why the warning signs were missed, again.
America doesn’t need more postmortems. It needs action. Sheriffs stand ready to help you tell the stories that can move our country forward before it’s too late.
Jonathan Thompson is executive director and CEO of the National Sheriffs’ Association.