Posted on 07/07/2006 1:20:19 PM PDT by SwinneySwitch
LAREDO - Local sheriffs this morning testified in front of a congressional subcommittee of potential vulnerabilities to terrorism along the Southern Border.
"There is an infrastructure in place just waiting to be exploited," Webb County Sheriff Rick Flores told members of the House International Relations Subcommittee on International Terrorism and Nonproliferation.
Flores and Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez shared stories about hunters being surprised by black-clad gunmen, a Starr County jailer who was found executed in Mexico, and Iraqi dinars found on a ranch trail as part of the divisive testimony.
Congressional Democrats accused the Republican-dominated subcommittee of playing politics by holding field hearings after both the House and Senate bills had been passed.
"This is all about politics trumping policy," Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, D-San Antonio, said before the hearing.
Nonetheless, Gonzalez and Democratic colleagues Ruben Hinojosa, Silvestre Reyes and Sheila Jackson Lee participated in the hearing as guests.
Emotions ran high between supporters of the House bill and supporters of the Senate bill who witnessed the proceedings. The House wants an enforcement-first approach to border security before undertaking immigration reform. The Senate bill in contrast advocates comprehensive reform that would tighten the border and include a guest worker program.
The subcommittee's chairman, Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., had to remind those in attendance to refrain from cheering or booing during the testimony.
Reynaldo Garza, acting Laredo Sector Border Patrol Chief, testified that despite progress, the agency does not have control of the borders, posing homeland security risks.
"Reducing illegal entry, now more than ever, is a matter of national security," he said.
Garza said he was "very concerned" about potential links between Mexican drug cartels and terrorist groups. He later added that all of the terror alerts that the agency has received along the southern border turned out to be negative.
Sheriff Flores told the subcommittee that terrorists might choose to cross illegally into the United States through Mexico rather than Canada because they would be harder to identify.
"Over here in the border, in Mexico, they pretty much blend in," he said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
mcastillo@express-news.net
Laredo Hearing Update
Ping!
No need to worry folks. Not a care. Nothing to ee here... move along. Move along.
"Iraqi dinars found on a ranch trail "
Open borders, free trade and cheap labor must be worth the risk. Well, at least Mr. Bush must think so.
Mr. Bush and a handfull of Freepers.
susie
Hell, in Austin or SA, they blend in!
Mr. Bush and a handfull of Freepers.
Hey Susie, you got a list of these people so I don't have to bother with the ones I don't know of.
Huh?
susie
ping
"Iraqi dinars found on a ranch trail "
Other than the one sentance in the article about the 2 BP agents that were arrested in Calif. for taking payoffs to let in illegal aliens there hasn't been one word about the $18k worth of Irqaqi dinars that were found in his house.
How many terrotists had this guy let in and how much foreign money had he already disposed of before they arrested him.
From the article he had been doing this for a number of years.
DUH!
Not a problem. All they have to do is make their way to New York and tell Mayor Bloomberg,"Yo no hablo ingles" and he'll find a job for them until they finish the plans to blow up the tunnels.
Thanks goodness my rep Sheila Jackass Lee participated. I wonder how many times she uttered the phrase "If you will,", or used her favorite term; "vigorous".
She is one camera hungry terrorist lover...
Left by a group of 19 terrorists, um, guests of Bush.
Now now, she is very proud she learned big words two years ago and showing off is just natural after all.
If you have time, look at this site:
http://www.minutemanpirateradio.com/extras/extras.html
There are videos of the information and speeches.
DO NOT MISS
The Ford Plan In Mexico
OR
Terry Anderson: Radio Host and "Rock Star"
The Terry Anderson Show
I suspect that Ms. Lee learned those terms from wrestler Dusty Rhodes ("Een Puh-lick, if ewe wee-uhl") and "The Mask of Zorro" 's Catherine Zeta Jones ("He was most...vigorous!").
Seriously, though; it's a tad disturbing that the only non-Latino guest happened to be the most-notoriously ignorant member of Congress.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.