Thread: Congress denies Border Patrol’s request to accelerate deactivation of nine stations

Congress denies Border Patrol’s request to accelerate deactivation of nine stations

By Trish Choate
Posted July 19, 2012 at 12:58 p.m.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry said Thursday he’s seen some progress on the issue of keeping open interior Border Patrol stations in Abilene, Dallas, San Angelo and other cities.

Congress just denied the Border Patrol’s initial request to accelerate the deactivation of nine interior stations, Thornberry, a Republican from Clarendon, said in a statement early Thursday afternoon.

“You do not have to be on – or even near – the border to see and feel the effects of illegal immigration on our local communities, and that is something we want to make sure the folks in Washington understand,” Thornberry said.

It was unclear immediately what Congress’s denial would mean for the Border Patrol’s schedule to close nine interior stations in four states in six months.

Thornberry, U.S. Rep. Mike Conaway, U.S. Rep. Randy Neugebauer and local law-enforcement officials have protested the Border Patrol plan, questioning how immigration law enforcement will be carried out without agents based in their districts.

Thornberry’s announcement came in the wake of a Wednesday afternoon meeting on Capitol Hill, organized by Thornberry’s staff, with top officials from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the agency including the Border Patrol.

Officials from a number of Texas House and Senate offices and the Governor’s Office attended the meeting to share concerns about the Border Patrol’s plan to shutter six interior stations in Texas to focus manpower on international borders.

The Border Patrol wants to withdraw 41 agents and seven support workers and shut down interior stations in the Texas cities of Abilene, Dallas, San Angelo, San Antonio, Lubbock and Amarillo. The agency also plans to deactivate interior stations in Billings, Mont.; Twin Falls, Idaho; and Riverside, Calif. The shutdown of the nine stations would save an estimated $1.3 million annually.

But at Wednesday’s meeting, Border Patrol officials indicated the proposal could also cost $2.47 million just in fiscal year 2013, which begins Oct. 1.

Thornberry rejected such estimates, saying they are “penny-wise and pound-foolish.”

He said federal spending must be reduced, but Border Patrol and interior enforcement must be both a national and economic security priority.

“We are working with Texas offices and others to make that as clear as we can,” Thornberry said.

Local law-enforcement authorities in Texas “have been vocal and unified in their opposition to any Border Patrol station closures,” the statement from Thornberry said.

Wichita County Sheriff David Duke has been among those expressing alarm.

Closing any Border Patrol station in Texas will allow the state to become “open range” for illegal immigrants to travel through, Duke said.

The closest Border Patrol station to Wichita Falls, which is in Dallas, rarely has agents in Wichita Falls, he said.

Thornberry plans to continue to press the Customs and Border Protection officials on the issue.

He authored a July 10 letter to protest Border Patrol station closings. U.S. Rep. Mike Conaway and U.S. Rep. Randy Neugebauer also signed the letter.

Texas regional reporter Trish Choate can be reached at (202) 408-2709 or choatet@shns.com.

Congress denies Border Patrol

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