Texas border

Dewhurst listens to South Texans @teamdewhurst #texsen

Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst was the only Republican candidate for US Senator willing to meet with Texas Border Volunteers and South Texas citizens who live with the threats posed by illegal border crossings.

An ad hoc consortium calling itself the Tea Party Coalition of Texas invited the top-tier candidates — Dewhurst and Cruz, plus former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert and former ESPN analyst Craig James — to a South Texas ranch to talk to Valley farmers and ranchers who feel threatened by illegal immigration. Dewhurst was the only one of the four to accept the invitation.

The Cruz camp told Art Bedford, one of the organizers of the event, that scheduling conflicts made it impossible for the candidate to attend. Bedford said Cruz’s people told him that if there was a runoff, the candidate would be happy to come down and talk to border-area farmers and ranchers.

Rick Perry’s record on border security

As I’ve written before, Governor Rick Perry is for border control and has the record to prove it, in spite of very unique challenges in Texas.

Unfortunately, the Federal government which has the Constitutional duty to protect our borders has refused to fund the necessary manpower and equipment and has also been negligent in identifying, arresting, and deporting illegal aliens. Governor Perry has focused on border security to control illegal invasion in the first place, both in Texas and the greater United States. He advocates what he calls “boots on the ground:” patrolling the border, with agents, planes, drones, and helicopters.

Governor Perry supports strategically placed fencing in urban areas and not the rural fence that doesn’t work well when placed 1/4 mile from the Rio Grand. More here from National Public Radio. This article from the LA Times, gives an example of the unintended consequences of unwise placement of the fence, resulting in Texans whose homes have been fenced off from the rest of the US.

While there are National Guard troops on the 2000 mile border with Mexico, only 250 of the 1200 are deployed along the 1200 miles of Texas’ border. Perry has repeatedly asked for more. Read this news report from a year ago. He also pushed the Federal government to allow the military practice to their skills with unmanned Predator aircraft along our border (“They’ve gotta practice somewhere.”)

As a direct result of the Governor alerting Texas Republican Congressmen about President Obama’s plan to remove the National Guard after less than 6 months, we’ll have them longer. News report, here, from June, 2011 about the extension.

Texas (along with our costs from eleven ICE detention center detainees being dumped in the State by Homeland security, our support of Katrina refugees, and our natural disasters like Ike, wildfires, and tornadoes) is expected to pay for our own Guard if we want them here after September.

Watch and listen to Governor Perry talking with Fox News Greta van Susteren about the border, that “boots on the ground” phrase, and the problems with the fence. (You can see and hear the Texas Ranger helicopters in the background.)

He created the Ranger Recon force, sending 150 Texas Rangers (Motto:”One riot, one Ranger”) to the border along with helicopters and Texas Guardsmen, paid for with Texas state funds. “Operation Linebacker” and “Border Star” were efforts from 2006 and 2007: Gov. Perry Implements and Leads Operation Border Star From 2009: Gov. Perry Expanding Operation Border Star – Sends Rangers, Guard to the Border (2009)

Texas spends over $200 million a year on the cost of jailing illegal aliens that the feds bring here. In addition, we’ve spent $79 million of our own Texas tax funds on troops, helicopters.

When the Texas Legislature refused to fund his program to implement a “virtual border” using camera surveillance to augment “boots on the ground,” so he used money from the Governor’s discretionary fund.  In some cases, local sheriffs and cities refused to cooperate and their opposition impeded full implementation of the program.

The following are from the Governor’s News room:

Tuesday, June 07, 2011:  Gov. Perry Adds Sanctuary Cities to Special Session Call He also added bills to approve “Secure Communities” and a ban on Texas driver license for illegal aliens.

“Gov. Rick Perry announced the addition of legislation relating to the abolishment of sanctuary cities, the use of the federal Secure Communities program by law enforcement agencies, and the issuance of driver’s licenses and personal identification certificates to the special session call.

“Texas owes it to the brave law enforcement officials, who put their lives on the line every day to protect our families and communities, to give them the discretion they need to adequately do their jobs,” Gov. Perry said.

“Abolishing sanctuary cities in Texas, using the federal Secure Communities program and ensuring that only individuals who are here legally can obtain a valid Texas driver’s license sends a clear message that Texas will not turn a blind eye to those breaking our laws.”

Tuesday, May 10, 2011 Gov. Rick Perry on House Passage of House Bill 12.

Friday, May 27, 2011: Gov. Perry Takes a Major Step in Securing the Integrity of the Electoral Process;
Signs legislation requiring voters to present photo ID at polling places

Tuesday, June 28, 2011: Statement by Gov. Rick Perry Regarding Sanctuary City Legislation

2005: Gov. Perry works with the 16-member Texas Border Sheriff’s Association to deter illegal immigration and prevent border-related crime – Creates ‘Operation Linebacker” – Awards $6 Million to Border Counties for Border Security

2007: Gov. Perry Praises Progress of Statewide Radio Communications Capabilities

2009: Gov. Perry Announces Highly Skilled Ranger Recon Teams as Texas’ Latest Efforts to Enhance Border Security

2010: Governor Perry’s Letter to Barack Obama (2010)

2010: Gov. Perry: Federal Government Must Take Action To Prevent Spillover Violence from Mexico Requests Predator Drones and National Guard Troops along Border (2010)

2010: Governor’s Perry’s Homeland Security Strategic Plan for Texas, 2010 – 2015 (in pdf)

2010: Gov. Perry Releases Texas Homeland Security Strategic Plan 2010-2015

(Thanks to “casinva” at FreeRepublic.com for many of these sources.)

Texans want action on border security

From Todd Staples, Texas’ Agricultural Commissioner, via the Austin American Statesman:

Despite empty assurances from Washington, communities along the Texas-Mexico border continue to face threats and violence from Mexican drug cartels. With the release of our commissioned report, “Texas Border Security: A Strategic Military Assessment,” the Texas Department of Agriculture offers a powerful perspective into this national security breach. If President Barack Obama and his administration won’t hear the concerned voices of Texans, perhaps he will listen to high-ranking retired military generals who know a thing or two about facing foreign enemies.

Retired Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey, the former U.S. drug czar under President Bill Clinton and SouthCom commander of all U.S. troops in Latin America, and retired Maj. Gen. Robert H. Scales, former commandant of the United States Army War College, were commissioned by the Agriculture Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety to utilize their vast military expertise to incorporate strategic, operational and tactical elements of securing borders and hostile territories and make recommendations to apply these elements along the Rio Grande.

First and foremost, the generals argue that Washington must shed the cloak of denial and admit there is a problem. Additionally, they say, there must be a highly organized, integrated, pro-active approach in which local, state and federal officials work together to create synergies to stop terrorists’ incursions. None of this is possible, they continue, without sufficient federal resources, support and additional boots on the ground.

The generals agree that our farmers, ranchers and rural residents — along with our urban areas — are under attack by cartels that rely daily on tactics such as killing, kidnapping, human smuggling, transnational arms shipments and blackmail to carry out their illegal trade to distributor gangs in hundreds of U.S. cities. Those same gangs help facilitate illegal commerce that pushes drugs into America while sending illegal weapons and cash into Mexico. The report says between $19 billion and $39 billion in illicit proceeds move through southwestern border “bulk smuggling” operations to Mexico each year.

The generals also conclude that Mexican cartels are seeking to create a “sanitary zone” — their own turf — inside the United States, specifically inside the southwest border, which they consider to be “vulnerable.” Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw has testified that over a period of 18 months, six of seven cartels have established sophisticated command and control facilities in Texas cities. The report goes on to say at least 70 residential lots in Hidalgo County have been purchased with millions of dollars in drug proceeds.

This lack of security and disregard for Americans’ safety cannot be what our Founding Fathers had in mind when they penned the Constitution and specifically outlined the federal government’s responsibility to protect American soil and citizens from foreign invaders.

It’s important for the American people and the federal government to fully understand that besides being a gateway for criminal activity, the 1,200-mile Texas-Mexico border plays a critical role in the safe transportation of goods and services through our nation. Allowing this area to be under siege is not only inexcusable for the sake of our citizens’ safety, but also is detrimental to American trade, agriculture and our overall economy. The proof will be seen in your neighborhood grocery stores, as food prices increase to compensate for added security. Keep in mind, Mexico is the No. 1 trading partner for Texas and No. 2 for U.S. exports. It is this legal trade we are trying to preserve.

As the generals’ report concludes, it is imperative the federal government admits to the problem of cartel violence along the Texas-Mexico border and fulfills its duty to defend and protect Americans.

Denying the problem fails our Founding Fathers, our citizens and our nation. Are you listening, Washington? Texans want action.

via Statesman.com : Staples: Texans want action on border security.