Federal agents and surveillance equipment will be added to parts of the border with Mexico in an effort to prevent drug violence from spreading into the United States.Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Tuesday announced the plan to spend $700 million to curb drug smuggling and the escalating border violence. About $30 million in stimulus money will go to local and state law enforcement agencies along the border, and x-ray equipment will be installed at most points of entry. Napolitano, the former governor of Arizona, said the administration is also considering requests by Texas and Arizona to deploy the National Guard.
In Mexico, 6,290 killings were blamed on the drug cartels in 2008. In Ciudad Juarez, directly across the border from El Paso, Texas, more than 1,600 people were killed, while In El Paso, 18 killings were reported.
In Tijuana, across the border from San Diego, 843 people were slain in 2008, more than half during the last three months of the year. In San Diego — with a population about the same as Tijuana — 26 people were killed last year. In Phoenix, Arizona, kidnappings in 2008 rose to an all-time high of 364.
The administration said its effort includes doubling border enforcement security teams that combine local, state, and federal officers; and adding 16 new Drug Enforcement Administration positions in the southwestern region to complement the 1,000 agents already working there.
It's a tragedy that Homeland Security is being run by Napolitano who, as Governor, was FOR open borders and used her Attorney General to oppose state referenda cutting off benefits for illegal aliens.
ReplyDeleteTo a great extent, our border crisis was caused by her!
I am sick of my government claiming they are going after drug smugglers and terrorists at our borders while ignoring the 6-10 thousand illegals who cross our borders daily, pretending they are not a threat and have nothing to do with drugs or terrorism.
ReplyDeleteAre they that stupid? You cannot separate illegal immigration from either drugs or terrorism.
Everybody (except Washington) knows that illegal smuggling is no longer a cottage industry. It is run, chiefly, by the drug cartels who use illegals as mules to carry their drugs. And they would just as happily transport terrorists or WMDs across the border as illegal aliens.
These phony, lying politicians, from both parties, need to be throw out of Congress NOW!
Wake up voters! This is all your fault. You are letting 535 low-life scumbags destroy our once wonderful country.
When are you going to wake up and DO soomething? use your vote while you can because when that fails (and it will), the next choices are far more difficult.
Hey Hey Hey,looks like the AMERICAN dope addict is making the mexican drug cartels some money. Who is the dumb scum bag here.Gosh. I wonder who. You don't need to vote---you need to figure out how to keep these little pot head americans off the stuff. If you do---the problem will go away. END OF STORY.
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