Thread: DHS bill places emphasis on Southwest border

DHS bill places emphasis on Southwest border

June 27, 2009 - 9:23 PM
By JARED JANES, The Monitor

EDINBURG - The addition of 800 U.S. Border Patrol agents to the agency's Rio Grande Valley Sector over the past three years has made a marked difference, said Dan Doty, a local Border Patrol spokesman.

Marijuana seizures are at a record high this year and the number of people sneaking into the United States is on the decline, he said. Both are the result of federal government expenditures on technology, infrastructure and manpower.

"We're covering more area more often," Doty said. "It's making more of a difference."

More help for the local sector might be on the way.

The U.S. House approved an appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security this week that U.S Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, said continues an emphasis on combating Southwest border violence.

Passed to fund agencies for the next fiscal year, the bill provides $3.5 billion to fully fund 20,019 Border Patrol agents, up more than 1,000 agents from the current level.

The funding means the Border Patrol will have doubled in size since 2002.

But the bill also includes $26 million for counter-narcotics initiatives, including $10 million for systems to scan the southbound lanes at ports of entry.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is set to receive $124 million more than last year to expand operations along the border to fight the drug trade, weapons smuggling and transnational gangs.

Increased expenditures in the appropriations bill to combat border violence are the result of greater awareness of the problem, Cuellar said. A report stating that Mexican drug cartels have a presence in more than 250 U.S. cities prompted members of Congress to place an emphasis on combating those criminal organizations.

"It's not a border issue any more," Cuellar said. "It's a problem that's really gone across the United States."

The new expenditures would be felt in ways beyond safety in areas along the border.

The bill creates more than 500 jobs, provides $140 million to facilitate the implementation of new passport rules at busy ports of entry and continues grant opportunities for local law enforcement agencies through the Operation Stonegarden program.

Federal appropriations for U.S. Customs and Border Protection expanded the number of Border Patrol agents from 10,000 in 2002 to a little more than 19,000 this year, said Michael Reilly, the agency's assistant chief for border security operations in Washington, D.C.

Those additional agents - and funding for technology such as mobile surveillance systems and infrastructure such as the border fence - are leading to this year's national records in drug seizures.

"Any funding increase is going to work," Reilly said. "More boots on the ground to secure our country is a good thing."

The Senate has yet to pass its own version of the Homeland Security spending bill. Once it does, the two versions will be reconciled in a conference committee. The measure will then be sent to the president for signing.

http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/b ... -year.html

This is fine and dandy, now how about passing a bill that increases the number of ICE agents and number of holding facilities for illegal aliens. Interior enforcement is important too.