Video included

Interior Secretary Says National Security Can Co-Exist With ‘Ecological Values’ at U.S.-Mexico Border

Friday, April 23, 2010
By Edwin Mora

(CNSNews.com) - Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told CNSNews.com that national security and ecological values can coexist at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The comments came amid Republican criticism that the Interior Department is using conservation as a pretext to interfere with U.S. Border Patrol operations on federal lands, particularly when it comes to stopping illegal immigrants and drug smugglers.

In an exclusive interview at an Earth Day event on the National Mall in Washington, CNSNews.com asked Salazar if he thought the Interior Department should relax policies that interfere with Border Patrol efforts on federally protected lands (see transcript below).

“It has certainly been the case where we’ve worked well with both Mexico as well as with Canada in terms of transnational cross-border issues that have to do wildlife and national parks issues, and we hope to continue that agenda,â€