White unveils border security plan
By JOE HOLLEY HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Sept. 2, 2010, 1:44PM


Plunging into the contentious issue of border security, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White called for a thousand new local law enforcement personnel and 250 state troopers to police the state's border region.

His proposal, part of a six-point plan to secure the Texas-Mexico border, is, in White's words, "a comprehensive approach to dealing with this issue."

"Texas needs to do a better job than it's done the past 9½ years under Rick Perry," the candidate said at a Houston press conference Thursday. "This plan will bring results, not just political theater and broken promises."

White said he would pay for the additional law-enforcement positions using federal grants, state appropriations and drug-forfeiture dollars.

He also called for obtaining all available federal funding to support border security, using state appropriations more effectively and establishing a formal partnership with local and federal law enforcement agencies and border leaders. He said he would convene a meeting at least twice a year to assess border-security efforts and that he would attend those meetings.

White said he would revamp the Department of Public Safety "to get the most leverage out of the fact that they can operate across jurisdictions."

He also said he would assist local law enforcement agencies in adopting Secure Communities, a program Houston adopted late in White's tenure as mayor to identify criminals in the United States illegally and turn them over to federal authorities.

Perry, speaking to reporters in Austin, said his opponent was light on both specifics and on new ideas.

"Welcome to the debate," he said. "We have, for the last four years, been moving Texas forward. I don't suppose he said anything about Washington's abject failure in doing their job of defending our border. The state of Texas has made a substantial effort towards border security, more so than any other state — $230 million over the last two legislative sessions — so, again, his campaign is very high on criticism and very light on any new ideas."

Perry said his administration had been calling for years for an additional thousand police officers and a thousand National Guard troops.

He also scored his opponent for taking federal dollars regardless of strings attached.

"To just say, 'Yeah, sure, send any money down here and whatever strings attach to them, we'll take' — that's not my position. It never has been."

Appearing with White in Houston were Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia, El Paso County Sheriff Richard Wiles and Hidalgo Mayor John David Franz, who also chairs the Texas Border Coalition.

Franz, who has endorsed Perry in the past, said today he was backing White, in part because of the Democrat's border plan. "As mayor, I can tell you we desperately need a governor who's going to communicate with border stakeholders before formulating a border plan," he said.

Franz said that rampant drug violence in nearby Reynosa and other Mexican cities has not leaped the Rio Grande into his city, but that Texans need to remain vigilant.

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