Texas Border Security Report

FOR YOUR INFORMATION.....article/report below!!!!


In April, 2005, the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps began conducting border watches on the Arizona border to bring awareness to the out-of-control illegal smuggling and violence on the U.S./Mexico border.

In October, 2005, the first Texas MCDC border watch was conducted on a private ranch in the S.Texas border area. Law enforcement along the Texas border was undermanned and outgunned by heavily armed drug cartels/smugglers and human smugglers that were bringing in thousands of illegal aliens that were flooding across the Rio Grande and through private ranch land on a daily basis. The Texas border sheriffs, border agents and other border law enforcement and property owners had already been begging and pleading for help in their areas for several years...but apparently no one was listening...until border watch groups started making their voices heard loud and clear in 2005.

In February, 2006, Governor Perry established the "Texas Border Security Strategy" and in the 80th Texas Legislative Session, the Texas legislators created the "Border Security Council" through Senate Bill 11 and appointed 11 people from across the state to serve as council members and advise the Governor on the allocation of $110 million dollars from state homeland security. A 92-page "Texas Border Security Council Report to Governor Rick Perry" was produced in 2008 by the council recommending performance standards, reporting requirements, audit methods and other procedures for the funds.

During the fall of 2007, the Security Council held five public meetings across the state and heard testimonies from citizens, ranchers, home owners, business owners, law enforcement and elected officials. It was finally through these meetings that public and government officials seemed to grasp the severity of the unsecured Texas border and proceeded to act.

Governor Perry has reported that the state has received $400 million dollars from the Department of Homeland Security in the last 4-5 years to provide for more border agents, better weapons to the border agents and border sheriffs, cameras ($100 million dollars on cameras that didn't work the first time!) and sensors, helicopters, planes, boats and other equipment to help in the surveillance and apprehension of illegal traffic and drugs across and along the Rio Grande. The Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Rangers were added to assist the border agents and sheriffs which has been a significant help in apprehending smugglers and drugs....and for a while in 2006 and 2010...the National Guard provided backup assistance to the Border Patrol.

I fully believe it was (and still is) the private and public actions of volunteer border watch groups such as the Texas Border Volunteers in S.Texas and many other concerned Americans across the country that have gotten the public, the news media and the government moving in the right direction. These dedicated people are still keeping the border and illegal issues alive and in the public's attention...and will not rest until their mission is accomplished!!

It was the Texas state government that took action...but has it been enough??

No!...we are not there yet!!! There is still much to do to fully secure the borders and stop the flow of drugs that are addicting and killing the citizens of this country and increasing the crime rates....and stopping possible terrorists!!

After six+ years of S.Texas property owners, volunteer border watchers and many dedicated Americans pleading, begging and complaining about the out-of-control invasion of illegal aliens and drugs crossing the Rio Grande....Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples and the DPS, with the direction of the 82nd Texas Legislature, via House Bill 4, and two highly qualified generals....are finally addressing these very important issues (article/report below)!! The report backs up what concerned Americans have been telling the public and the government for six+ years!! How much and how soon any of this report turns into serious action we have yet to see!! We have been down this road before!!

Our borders are not as secure as Washington and others claim they are and more must be done!!! We can only hope that the following report will take the Texas border to the final stage of security that will give relief to those living along the U.S. side of the Texas border and stop the flow of illegal foreigners and illegal drugs crossing the Rio Grande...and spreading across the country!!

The Texas border is the longest first-line of defense against this invasion and what happens there determines what happens across the country. Again...only time will tell...but we are closer to a solution than we were six+ years ago...and many thanks to those of you who have continued on this long and somewhat frustrating journey....and as someone said six+ years ago:

“We must prevail, we will prevail. We shall overcome the effort by many to identify this movement as irresponsible; we will be victorious in proving the skeptics wrong. Our efforts will change the course of history and ignite others to stand with courage to make a change. Many are waiting for the outcome and will, themselves, be motivated with a new sense of activism; we will be leaders who will make a difference, role models who will influence future generations.”

Pat Kennedy
WTxCC

From: Jim
Subject: Texas Border Security Report findings are released
Date: Monday, September 26, 2011, 2:49 PM

By Scott Lawrence
2011-09-26 15:01:26

AUSTIN — From Texas Department of Agriculture - In an effort to protect U.S. citizens from spillover cartel violence while continuing to emphasize the critical need for enhanced Texas/Mexico border security, Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples today released “Texas Border Security: A Strategic Military Assessment.” The independent study, co-authored by retired General Barry McCaffrey and retired Major-General Robert Scales, was unveiled as part of the Protect Your Texas Border Summit at the Capitol.

Click here to read the entire Texas Border Security Report.

“Washington keeps telling us our border is more secure than ever, but this detailed military assessment, by two of America’s top generals, offers proof to the contrary,” Commissioner Staples said. “It’s time to shed the cloak of denial and protect our citizens and national security. Would Washington stand by and allow terrorists from Canada to make daily incursions into New York? The answer is a resounding, ‘No.’ We expect and demand that same level of protection in Texas. It’s time for Washington to uphold its constitutional duty to protect Americans on their home soil.”

Commissioned jointly by the Texas Department of Agriculture and the Texas Department of Public Safety, the report offers a military perspective on how to best incorporate strategic, operational and tactical measures to secure the increasingly hostile border regions along the Rio Grande River. It also provides sobering evidence of why Texas landowners and officials have called for increased federal support to defend our southern border.

“During the past two years, the southwestern United States has become increasingly threatened by the spread of Latin American and Mexican cartel organized crime,” said Gen. Barry McCaffrey (Ret.). “I congratulate Commissioner Staples for his vision in creating awareness of the inadequate attention paid to violence stemming from the drug cartels in Mexico and Latin America.”

“The violence and ongoing threat to our security reflect a change in the strategic intent of the cartels to move their operations into the United States,” said Maj. Gen. Robert Scales (Ret.). “American cities and rural areas now have Latin American drug, gun and human smuggling cartels operating inside our borders.”

Among the generals’ findings were:

• Living and conducting business in a Texas border county is tantamount to living in a warzone in which civil authorities, law enforcement agencies, as well as citizens, are under attack around the clock.

• Criminality spawned in Mexico is spilling over into the United States. Texas is the tactical close combat zone and frontline in this conflict. Texans have been assaulted by cross-border gangs and narco-terrorist activities.

• Federal authorities are reluctant to admit to the increasing cross-border campaign by narco-terrorists.

• One reason for this disparity between reported and actual cartel activity in Texas is that the 17,000 local and state law enforcement agencies that provide data to the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) are not required to categorize these crimes as “drug related.”

• Reform at that operational level is dependent on bringing more “boots on the ground” to the fight for border security.

• Texas is the frontline in this escalating war and the potential consequences of success or failure will affect our entire nation.

To review the report in its entirety click here or go to TexasAgriculture.gov and click on popular links.

The 82nd Texas Legislature, via House Bill 4, directed the Texas Department of Agriculture to fund an assessment of the impact of illegal activity along the Texas/Mexico border on rural landowners and the agriculture industry. Commissioner Staples immediately partnered with the Texas Department of Public Safety to commission Generals McCaffrey and Scales for this important study.

About the Generals

General Barry McCaffrey is the former Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under President Bill Clinton and former Commander of all U.S. troops in Central and South America. Retired Major-General Robert Scales is the former Commandant of the United States Army War College.