at the Border with Our Congressman John Culberson : Houston Indymedia

Here is another article that illustrates the seriousness of the emergency along our border. You do not need to go to Iraq to see the war on terror, you can go to Laredo. Ask any law enforcement officer who serves along the Rio Grande and they will confirm that there is a full scale war going on down there. I have just returned from a tour of the area, guided by border county sheriffs, and I am now convinced that the battle for Laredo is as important strategically as the battle of Gettysburg was during the Civil War.

The sheriffs are dismayed by the lack of attention from the national media and the lack of support from the federal government. I intend to do everything in my power to educate the American people and Congress on the severity of this problem. Nuevo Laredo is a ghost town and Laredo will soon become one unless we get serious about dealing with this threat.

During my visit, the Sheriffs gave me the following information:

· A large, but unknown, number of al Qaeda terrorists and Chinese nationals are infiltrating our country virtually anywhere they choose from Brownsville to San Diego.

· One al Qaeda terrorist was held for several weeks after being captured on our border and is currently under FBI custody.

· Paramilitary training camps run by Special Forces officers trained in Nicaragua and Guatemala operate in the open near Matamoras. Terrorists, drug smugglers and killers are trained here within walking distance of Matamoras.

· A large number of Islamic individuals have moved into homes in Nuevo Laredo and are being taught Spanish to assimilate with the local culture.

The border county Sheriffs are the only law enforcement officials capable of responding immediately and effectively to this security threat. They are locally elected and they know the terrain better than anyone, but they are constrained by a lack of federal funding and they do not have the authority to assist the Border Patrol. Volunteers can play a role in this battle by joining neighborhood watch programs, but the narcoterrorists and guerillas have the best weapons that money can buy, so the area is not safe for volunteers. Next week, I will introduce a bill with Congressman Silvestre Reyes that will provide authority and direct federal funding for border county Sheriffs to assist Border Patrol agents in securing our border. Full scale war is underway on our Southern border, and our entire way of life is at risk if we do not win the battle for Laredo.

I just returned from a life-changing trip down to the Rio Grande river where I witnessed firsthand the open warfare that our Sheriffs and U.S. Border Patrol Agents are engaged in along the border. I am convinced that the only way to win this war is to provide our County Sheriffs with the resources they need to assist the Border Patrol and serve as the secondary line of defense to protect our border. Here is a well-written article from a knowledgable reporter that accurately describes the gravity of the situation.

Culberson Pushing for More Help from Sheriffs

Copyright Del Rio News-Herald

Following a stop in Del Rio Monday, U.S. Rep. John A. Culberson says he believes Texas sheriffs' offices in counties along the Mexico border can help head off a security nightmare.

"I'm concerned that one day I'm going to wake up to the news bulletins that there have been multiple massive truck bomb explosions in our major cities, set off by al Quaeda terrorists, and that we let them walk over the southern border while they pretended to be Hispanic immigrants," Culberson said.

Culberson, a Houston Republican, met with Val Verde County Sheriff A. D'Wayne Jernigan, Val Verde County Judge Mike L. Fernandez and local federal judges Monday morning before taking a brief tour along the Rio Grande and Lake Amistad to view areas of security concern.

Today, Culberson is in Laredo, where he is expected to meet with Jernigan and other members of the Texas Border Sheriffs Coalition.

Culberson stopped for a brief interview with the Del Rio News-Herald just before the end of his tour.

Culberson said he is currently seeking co-sponsors for a bill he will file that will free a portion of $6.8 billion in unspent Department of Homeland Security funds to be spent on local law enforcement agencies along international borders. If the bill becomes law, one of the agencies that would benefit is the Val Verde County Sheriff's Office.

"It's criminal that money is just sitting there while we have a full-scale war among narco-terrorists going on across the river," Culberson said Monday. "Our first responders along the border are not being given the support they need, and that is intolerable, inexcusable."

Culberson said Monday the border law enforcement bill he is currently working on is an evolution of a bill he filed "in frustration" in July. That bill, House Resolution 3622, would enable governors of states along international borders to call up, equip and train a "volunteer militia" to augment existing border law enforcement.

"I filed (H.R. 3622) because I was fed up and frustrated," Culberson said. He later added, "I do not plan to pursue (H.R. 3622)."

His new bill, Culberson added, would echo "Operation Linebacker," a move by the Texas Border Sheriffs Coalition to seek federal funding to augment border security efforts and to provide a second line of defense, likened to the position of a linebacker on a football team.

If his bill passes, Culberson said, "You will see the sheriff's operations here ramp up dramatically. The focus of this bill is law enforcement."

Culberson, who said he has not visited Val Verde County since going fishing here as a boy, said he was impressed by the work the sheriff's office here is doing, despite limited manpower and funding.

"People that are not from Texas have no idea how big this state is," Culberson said.

And big, Culberson added, means wide open and hard to control.

"We have specific information, sworn testimony before Congress, that individuals with known al Quaeda connections are adopting false Hispanic identities, learning Spanish and pretending to be immigrants from Mexico," Culberson said.

The congressman said these individuals could very easily pretend to be the residents of a country like Brazil, then come to the United States and be arrested, then released, as "other than Mexican - OTM" immigrants. Like thousands of others, they would then simply melt into the population, Culberson said.

"This is a clear and present danger to the United States," he added.

Culberson said although he supports the efforts of the U.S. Border Patrol, he said it is clear to him that the country's southern border is far from secure.

"The country and the Congress have reached the tipping point on illegal immigration," Culberson said.

He cited the numerous examples of Mexican nationals committing burglaries in the county and the increase in drug-smuggling related violence in Nuevo Laredo as prime examples that help is needed along the border.

"These people living in fear, that just can't go on; it's ridiculous," Culberson said. "This is a law-and-order issue. We cannot permit the anarchy we see on the Mexican side to spill over here, and if the federal government can't, or won't do it, then Sheriff Jernigan will."

Sen. Cornyn also addressed the issue of border security and immigration policy, which he called “the third rail of politics” because of its controversial nature. Sen. Cornyn supports the deployment of 10,000 border patrol agents, but he also supports a temporary worker program. For more information on Sen. Cornyn’s Comprehensive Enforcement and Immigration Reform Act, please see http://cornyn.senate.gov/.

The national conservative weekly publication, Human Events, has named U.S. Representative John Culberson one of its "Top Ten Up-and-Coming House Conservatives."

Human Events praised Culberson's conservative credentials, saying: "This 'Jeffersonian Republican' is an immigration hawk who rejected an attempt to allow the Mexican matricula consular document to serve as an acceptable ID. He supports a national sales tax."

Culberson has maintained a steady focus on two major issues since his election to Congress in 2000 - controlling government spending and securing our borders. "My highest priorities are balancing the budget and securing our borders, because we cannot win the war on terror until we secure our borders," Culberson said.