Thread: TX: Perry announces plans for border security money

http://www.elpasotimes.com/breakingnews/ci_5335057

Perry announces plans for border security money (7:03 p.m.)
By Brandi Grissom / El Paso Times
El Paso Times
Article Launched:03/01/2007 06:47:52 PM MST

AUSTIN -- Gov. Rick Perry today sent lawmakers his plan for spending $100 million on border security: hundreds of new state and local police officers, dozens of new patrol cars, more helicopters and technology and additional intensive patrol operations.
"The first step in protecting this country from any future terrorist attacks must be securing the borders," said Perry spokesman Robert Black.

House budget writers earlier this week were still waiting for a formal request from Perry and finally received a specific outline of his border security spending plan today, nearly halfway through the 140-day legislative session.

State Rep. Carl Isett, R-Lubbock, chairman of the budget subcommittee that deals with the governor's special requests, said there was still plenty of time to put border security funds in the state budget.

"All of us came down here expecting to work on this," Isett said.

Perry said last June he would ask lawmakers for $100 million to continue and expand state-led border security operations that have been under way since 2005.

The request Perry sent to House Appropriations Committee members outlines how he wants to spend that money during the next two years.

More than a quarter of the money, $27.9 million, would go to local law enforcement agencies to hire and train 350 more officers and buy 110 patrol cars. Another 25 percent of the money, $24.4 million, would reimburse local police to pay officers for overtime during intensive patrol operations like the ones El Paso police and sheriffs deputies did under Operations Linebacker and Wrangler.

Black said most of the funds would be spent along the border.

"That's where the vast majority of the challenges lie," he said.

El Paso County Sheriff Leo Samaniego said he is behind Perry's plan "100 percent."

Samaniego helped lay the foundation for the state-led border security plans, developing the idea for Operation Linebacker, the first effort Perry funded.

"We've got problems on the border, and at least we have somebody willing to do something about it even though he's getting criticized," Samaniego said.

Already, Perry has spent about $24 million in state and federal funds on border security efforts. Though the first year of operations saw an 8-percent drop in crime in border counties, critics have panned Perry's plan as a ruse to allow local police to enforce immigration laws not under their jurisdiction.

A report by the El Paso Times showed that sheriffs participating in Operation Linebacker caught seven times more undocumented immigrants than criminals in a six-month period.

The most recent effort, Operation Wrangler, nabbed twice as many undocumented immigrants as criminals during one week of intensive statewide patrols.

While they agree border security must improve, many border lawmakers have said they want more accountability measures attached to the funding to make sure local police are targeting crime, not immigrants or Hispanics.

State Rep. Norma Chávez, D-El Paso, who sits on the budget-writing committee and has in the past said she wants more accountability measures with the spending, did not return phone calls today.

State Rep. Chente Quintanilla, D-El Paso, said he likes Perry's plan to hire more officers and give local departments more equipment, but he thinks border security should be left up to the federal government.

"I'm still not in full agreement we should be spending our money for that," he said.

I don't trust or believe him......oh that's right... they have got all the cheap slave labor here already... and poised for amnesty...I guess he can now pretend (again) to be doing something... to clam the Sheeple down...so he and his clan can pull the next attack..on destroying Texas... the Mexican Truckers...

Originally Posted by redbadger

I don't trust or believe him......oh that's right... they have got all the cheap slave labor here already... and poised for amnesty...I guess he can now pretend (again) to be doing something... to clam the Sheeple down...so he and his clan can pull the next attack..on destroying Texas... the Mexican Truckers...

Their trying to put everybody back to sleep at the wheel so we will let it go and ignore what they are not doing again.

FAT CHANCE PERRY!! Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.
Our government has taught us well, don't repeat past mistakes, does 1986 ring a Bell!