Arvin West was born and raised in the West Texas town of Sierra Blanca, which is also the county seat for Hudspeth County. He is a career law enforcement officer since graduating from the Region 8 Law enforcement Academy in El Paso Texas in 1985. Arvin spent his early years working as a deputy for the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s department before moving back to Sierra Blanca in 1990. For the next ten years Arvin continued working as an investigator and eventually became Chief Deputy in Presidio County, until being elected to his first term as Sheriff in Hudspeth County in 2000.

Since becoming sheriff of Hudspeth County, West has headed numerous major criminal investigations against major drug trafficking organizations.

Seeing the border becoming more dangerous with the evolution of the transnational criminal organizations, West was a key figure in founding the Texas Border Sheriffs Coalition to deal with the elevated threat. As a result he has managed multi-million dollar grants aimed at supporting border security and the war on drugs thorough-out Texas.

In January 2006, after an incursion with Mexican military working for the Juarez cartel, Sheriff West was thrust into the media and political spotlight, and since that time has been at the epicenter of the drug war being waged on the border. Testifying numerous times in Washington and Austin, Texas—Sheriff West is regarded in media and academia as an expert in border security.

In his three terms as sheriff, West has worked with numerous divisions of the Department of Defense in training members of Special-Forces and other tactical arms of the U.S. military. He works constantly with various defense contractors in the development and testing of weaponry and technology, crucial to fighting the global war on terror and securing the southern border.

West has also been instrumental in fighting the war on drugs domestically by playing a significant role in drug and gang prevention programs all across the country. In addi-tion to time spent with local youth in 4-H, Boy Scouts and other extra-curricular activities for school aged kids.

“Essentially, the government has abandoned the border”.