Cuellar, Rodriguez, to host roundtable discussion at BTA conference(on border security, South Texas)

Alan Bersin, commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, will give the keynote speech at the BTA's '21s Century Border' conference.

McALLEN, Sept. 8 - U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar and Ciro Rodriguez will host a roundtable discussion on border security and trade at the Border Trade Alliance’s “21st Century Border” conference in McAllen on Thursday.

Among those slated to participate are Alan Bersin, commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, Janice Ayala, assistant director of operations for homeland security investigations for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Jorge Cisneros, of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, and Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety.

“We are very much looking forward to this conference,” BTA Chair Kathy Neal told the Guardian. “We have a wonderful lineup of interesting people who are active along the southern border and knowledgeable about activities along the southern border. We hope to have a good dialogue, especially with our congressmen.”

Business leaders slated to speak at Cuellar’s roundtable discussion include Neal, BTA President Nelson Balido, BTA Public Policy Director Garrick Taylor, Starr County Industrial Foundation Executive Director Rose Benavides, BTA Vice Chair Sam Vale, and Cynthia Sakulenzki, president and CEO of the McAllen Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Vale, owner of the Starr-Camargo International Bridge and Telemundo 40, will chair the BTA in 2011.

Congressman Cuellar, D-Laredo, chairs the House Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Border, Maritime and Global Counterterrorism. Congressman Rodriguez, D-San Antonio, is vice chair of the Homeland Security Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee. Their roundtable discussion runs from 2 to 3 p.m. on Thursday in the executive board room of the McAllen Convention Center. It is open to the media.

Members of the general public who want to attend the BTA conference must register. The price is $125. For members of the BTA the price is $75.

The conference kicks off at 8 a.m. A panel discussion in the morning will focus on Visas and Cross-Border Travel. Speakers include Michael Barkin, U.S. Consul General in Matamoros, Erasmo R. Martinez Martinez, Mexican Consul General in McAllen, and Jaime Diez, an immigration attorney

Another panel discussion in the morning focuses on Business and Security. Speakers include FBI Special Agent Jorge Cisneros, Dan McGrew, president of the Reynosa Maquiladora Association, and Ricardo Koller, assistant commissioner for legal affairs, Aduanas.

Another panel discussion in the morning will focus on International Rail. Speakers include Bill Glavin, rail division director for the Texas Department of Transportation.

The keynote speaker during lunch at the conference is CBP Commissioner Alan Bersin. He is slated to discuss his vision for a 21st Century border and what he's doing to encourage the secure flow of trade across U.S. land borders.

Today, members of the BTA and other invited guests will tour the McAllen Foreign Trade Zone and the new Anzalduas International Bridge.

"The keynote speaker during lunch at the conference is CBP Commissioner Alan Bersin. He is slated to discuss his vision for a 21st Century border and what he's doing to encourage the secure flow of trade across U.S. land borders."

Ciro Rodriguez? Would that be the same Ciro Rodriguez who for the past couple of decades has done everything in his power to guarantee that the Texas border stays WIDE OPEN? The Atzlan true believer? The La Raza member and Congressional ally? The one who says drug violence hasn’t spilled over to El Paso? The one who curses and yells at people who disagree with him at town meetings? The one who supports amnesty? The one who hobbled CBP’s ability to build the border fence by giving corrupt border mayors what amounted to veto power over it? The one who is a predictable left-wing vote, even when it screws his constituents? That’s the Ciro Rodriguez who is going to “host” a roundtable discussion on border security? What a joke.

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