National Guard units recently removed from the southern border by Homeland Security
By Cong. John Culberson
Texas Insider Report: HOUSTON Texas I returned last week from a trip to McAllen Texas which sits directly across the Rio Grande from Reynosa Mexico. In my discussions with law enforcement officials and experts on the current border situation and from my own personal observations it was exceedingly clear to me that in certain areas along the border not only has the level of violence increased it is worse than it ever has been.
I spent my time talking with the mayor Border Patrol agents Texas Department of Public Safety agents district judges and U.S. marshals.
I even had the privilege to patrol the border with a Texas Ranger Reconnaissance Team.
In March Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano conversely claimed that the situation along the border was better than it has ever been." She dismissed statements to the contrary as often made
only to score political points."
Ms. Napolitanos message is not only out of touch and tone-deaf it is dangerous for anyone living along the border or in a border state.
Homeland security is not a partisan issue so it is disappointing that Ms. Napolitano dismisses legitimate concerns as political posturing. The thought that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) the federal agency directly responsible for protecting our borders is not taking the job seriously is cause for alarm. As further proof of its negligence DHS recently removed National Guard units from the southern border of Arizona months before they were scheduled to leave a decision derided as a mistake by Arizona lawmakers familiar with the border situation.
Sadly this administration and previous ones have not treated border security as a national priority. The most effective way to improve the situation along the border is through strict enforcement of existing laws which I am proud to say is under way in some sectors of the border and already showing dramatic results.
In fact if there were anything positive about Ms. Napolitanos visit to the border it was that the lack of crime she witnessed in El Paso is a testament to the effectiveness of Operation Streamline a bipartisan effort my colleagues and I have worked arm-in-arm to fund implement and expand. Miss Napolitano visited areas where Operation Streamline a zero-tolerance law enforcement program is already in effect.
The areas under Operation Streamline are not the problem.
The problem is the areas where Streamline has not been implemented and that is where we need to focus our
attention and resources. My colleagues and I on both sides of the aisle have made it a top priority to expand Operation Streamline along the entire border from Brownsville Texas to San Diego.
If my trip to the border demonstrated anything it was that the federal government could be doing much more to improve border security.
Keeping Americans safe is the No. 1 priority for everyone in Congress and I promise you that I will not rest until the border is secure and the people of Texas and our great nation are safe.
