A sheriff in far-West Texas ordered his deputies not to accept off-duty work requests to protect a children’s shelter operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The shelter reportedly houses Unaccompanied Alien Children who crossed the border without a parent or guardian.

El Paso County Sheriff Richard Wiles received a call from DHS officials requesting help from off-duty deputies to provide security for a shelter located near the Tornillo-Marcelino Serna Port of Entry, about 30 miles east of El Paso, the Chicago Tribune reported on Thursday.

“I told them absolutely not. I think it’s wrong,” Wiles told the Tribune regarding the Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance” policy and forced separations of families. “It’s not consistent with the values of the sheriff’s office.”

However, media reports indicate the shelter in question does not house children who were separated from their families by government agents. Instead, the shelter is the temporary home of about 350 children who have, in many cases, been placed in life-threatening situations by being turned over to Mexican cartel-connected human smugglers who help them cross, as what the government refers to as Unaccompanied Alien Children.

DHS officials apparently requested assistance from Wiles’ deputies when protesters began arriving at the shelter.

Wiles told the Tribune that the Tornillo shelter is housing migrant children who “entered the country unaccompanied.” He said he decided to decline the DHS request citing concerns that separated minors could come to the facility.

Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX, GAB, and Facebook.