Locals stress security, bridge resources during Napolitano visit

Keeping drug cartel violence south of the U.S.-Mexico border will require a sustained effort and collaboration from federal and local law enforcement officials, Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño said Monday on the first day of U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano’s trip to the Rio Grande Valley.

Napolitano arrived Monday for the first of a two-day trip to receive briefings from local officials, see South Texas border security operations firsthand and learn about efforts to facilitate lawful trade at the ports. Treviño will join other law enforcement officials today in a private meeting with Napolitano, where he’ll ask for continued support from Operation Stonegarden, an initiative that enhances local law enforcement’s ability to aid border security operations.

Since the federal grant program began in 2004, Hidalgo County has received nearly $6 million to strategically double its manpower on the streets, improve its crime fighting technology and make other investments not available under the county budget. Treviño said Stonegarden is aiding efforts by the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office to limit spillover violence.

"We tell the truth and say violent crime is down and cartel violence has been kept south of the river, but we get criticized because we say we need money," said Treviño, who will provide federal authorities unreleased crime statistics from his office that show a "significant" decline in violent and property crime over the past year. "If we’re going to continue to lower the violent crime rate, we have to have a sustained maintenance. That’s why we need the continued influx of federal funds."

Napolitano is scheduled to be joined on the trip by U.S. Customs and Border Protection Acting Commissioner David Aguilar, who took over the post after Alan Bersin left the post on Dec. 30. Before being named acting commissioner, the Laredo native served as the chief of the U.S. Border Patrol and once led sector operations in the Rio Grande Valley and Tucson, Ariz.

Napolitano’s previous trips to the Southwest border have allowed local officials to discuss specific concerns about DHS operations at and in between the ports of entry.

McAllen Mayor Richard Cortez said he would have liked to visit with Napolitano about issues affecting his city. McAllen recently received $7 million in state funding for lane expansions at the Anzalduas International Bridge, but the funding was rejected by CBP after the agency said it didn’t have the manpower to staff them. The money was slated to build four to six additional lanes to reduce congestion and wait times, which often stretch for more than three hours to enter the United States.

Cortez said Mexican maquiladoras are also pressing McAllen to find a way to open the bridge to commercial traffic before the 2015 schedule.

"The issues that we’re raising here are economic issues: How do we improve our region to do business with Mexico, which has been a big driver of our economy?" said Cortez, who was not extended an invite to meet with Napolitano. "We need to be more efficient (at the ports) and that part of the conversation should be considered."

Last week, the Texas Border Coalition criticized President Barack Obama’s latest budget proposal for not doing enough to address personnel and infrastructure issues at official U.S.-Mexico border crossings. The coalition — a group composed of border mayors, county executives and local economic development officials who advocate on behalf of communities along the border — says not enough is being done to facilitate legitimate trade at the ports.

The coalition cited U.S. Government Accountability Office estimates that $6 billion must be directed toward modernizing and expanding them. The president’s proposed budget largely holds the line on spending at the ports, adding about 73 new customs agents while the TBC says 6,000 are needed.

"They need to put their money where their mouth is and not implement things unless they’re going to fund them properly," said McAllen businesswoman Monica Stewart, the chairwoman of the coalition’s border security committee. "We can’t open the ports of entry unless they’re going to make them fully manned to run a true economic business."