Group Says International Bridges Dont Have Necessary Manpower

Posted: Jan 12, 2012 7:11 PM
Updated: Jan 12, 2012 7:22 PM

RIO GRANDE VALLEY - The Texas Border Coalition says its new border security report shows the government isn't getting the return on billions of dollars spent to secure the border. They say you can see the why when you look at international bridges.

The Donna International Bridge after hours is wide open. Down the border a few miles, CHANNEL 5 reporter Erica Proffer was able to walk into the inspection area at Los Indios. Hudspeth County Lt. Robert Wilson says he doesn't know why no one is watching the bridge.

Former CHANNEL 5 reporter Will Ripley found a foot bridge and two more across the Rio Grande in Hudspeth County with no gates, cameras or Border Patrol.

"They were built for flood control but you can see now they're used by smugglers to cross illegally into the U.S. There's nobody here to stop me from walking over into Mexico," Ripley reported.

CHANNEL 5 has been investigating unmanned bridges and ports of entries for several years.

"If 88 percent of all people going through sea ports or land ports, it only make sense we put the resources where we have the goods and people coming in. That's the land port," says Congressman Henry Cuellar.

Cuellar says the government spent $90 billion on fences and detection systems to secure the border. The Texas Border Coalition says the border still isn't secure.

"The probability an illegal crosser attempting to come into the U.S. is caught is 30 percent, giving drug cartels a bigger chance of success right at our border crossings," says Monica Weisberg Stewart with Texas Border Coalition.

The coalition and Cuellar had a conference call to push for more Customs and Border Protection officers at the ports of entries.

McAllen Mayor Richard Cortez says they had electrical problems at McAllen-Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge. He admits those problems could let criminals get into the United States.

Group Says International Bridges Dont Have Necessary Manpower | KRGV.com | CHANNEL 5 NEWS | Breaking News Breaking Stories