Readout of Secretary Napolitano's Remarks on Border Security at the University of Texas at El Paso

EL PASO, Texas—Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano today delivered remarks at the University of Texas at El Paso highlighting the Department’s unprecedented efforts over the past two years to secure the Southwest border by deploying historic levels of manpower, resources and technology and increasing collaboration with federal, state, local and tribal, and Mexican partners while facilitating legal trade and travel.

“The Obama administration has engaged in an unprecedented effort to bring focus and intensity to Southwest border security, coupled with a reinvigorated, smart and effective approach to enforcing immigration laws in the interior of our country,” said Secretary Napolitano. “Almost two years into the Southwest Border Initiative and the verdict is in: our approach is working—illegal immigration is decreasing, deportations are increasing and crime rates have gone down.”

During her remarks, Secretary Napolitano highlighted the Obama administration’s efforts to strengthen Southwest border security by increasing the number of Border Patrol agents from approximately 10,000 in 2004 to more than 20,700 in 2010; doubling the number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel assigned to Border Enforcement Security Task Forces; increasing the number of intelligence analysts working along the U.S.-Mexico border; quintupling deployments of Border Liaison Officers; and beginning screening of southbound rail and vehicle traffic for the illegal weapons and cash that are helping to fuel the cartel violence in Mexico.

Secretary Napolitano also underscored the results of these investments, noting that Border Patrol apprehensions—a key indicator of illegal immigration—have decreased 36 percent in the last two years and are less than half of what they were at their peak; violent crime in border communities has remained flat or fallen in the past decade; and statistics have shown that some of the safest communities in America are along the border.

Another report..I know this border well. I was raised in New Mexico. I have spent most of my adult life in Arizona as the U.S. Attorney, Attorney General, and as a two-term Governor.

I have walked the border, flown it, ridden it on horseback, and worked with border communities from Brownsville to San Diego for the better part 18 years as a public official. So I speak from personal experience when I say that the Southwest Border Initiative is the most comprehensive and dedicated effort to strengthen border security that we have ever deployed.

The border, as a whole, is simply not the same as it was two years ago, or even one year ago – in terms of the manpower and resources and technology; in terms of the relationships we’ve built with our federal, state, local and tribal partners; and in terms of our strong partnership with Mexico.

A Safe, Secure Border Zone

So, what’s our goal? Our goal is to have a safe, secure border zone that is also hospitable to and fosters legal trade, travel and immigration.

Our goal recognizes that the border is not simply a line on a map. It is an entire area, extending into both countries. Moreover, a safe, secure border zone requires vigorous enforcement of our nation’s immigration laws in the interior of our country as well.

Security starts along the border by leveraging every law enforcement asset and coordinating them in a way that acknowledges that our approach in El Paso may differ from a tactic in San Diego.

Enforcement in the interior of our country must be aggressive and smart. This means going after criminals and employers who knowingly hire illegal workers, as we have, and doing so in a way consistent with our values and our priorities.

Finally, our border policy should foster legitimate trade, travel, and immigration, accommodating the movement of commerce, from which the U.S. and our Mexican allies derive trade and tourism revenue, and which drives hundreds of thousands of jobs.

In a nutshell, that’s our philosophy, that’s how we do it, and those are our goals.

This common sense approach, coupled with the tireless dedication of the thousands of men and women on the frontlines, has achieved historic decreases in illegal immigration; unprecedented increases in the seizure of drugs, weapons, and contraband; and record numbers of deportations of individuals in the U.S. illegally – both overall and in terms of criminal aliens. This approach has also led to strengthened and increased partnerships with Mexico on trade and travel and an increase in associated trade revenue.

Further into her speech..Four of the top big cities in America with the lowest rates of violent crime are in border states – San Diego, Phoenix, Austin, and right here in El Paso.

Violent crimes in Southwest border counties have dropped by more than 30 percent and are currently among the lowest in the Nation per capita. And crime rates in Nogales, Douglas, Yuma and other Arizona border towns have remained essentially flat for the past decade, even as drug-related violence has dramatically increased in Mexico.

http://www.thegovmonitor.com/world_news/united_states/homeland-security-continues-to-strengthen-u-s-southwest-border-45625.html

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