Here's another example of distorted federal thinking about border policy.
Besieged Texas sheriffs vowed Wednesday to press the White House and Congress to deliver emergency assistance to law enforcement officers battling drug cartels along the Mexican border to match the $400 million on its way to Mexico.The sheriffs said they were frustrated that President Bush and Congress agreed to provide assistance to Mexico, as part of the Merida Initiative, without offering additional federal help to their departments. [...]
Implementation of the Merida Initiative is ''really disappointing and disheartening because Washington seems totally oblivious to what we're facing on the Mexican border," said Webb County Sheriff Rick Flores, chairman of the 19-county Texas Border Sheriff's Coalition.
''If they allocate resources and money to Mexico, they should also consider protecting our side of the border first."
Flores, who said he has faced death threats three times in the past three years, has received $1.8 million in federal assistance over the past 36 months. He said he needed $14.5 million in additional federal help over the next five years to hire 25 new deputies to join his hard-pressed department of 37 deputies.
Mexico will receive ''all the equipment," Flores said. ''They're going to be two notches above what we have. We would really like to have one of those helicopters in our neck of the woods."
Border security issues affect local citizens first and foremost. And with Mexico's internal drug war reaching anarchic proportions and coming to America big time, it would only make sense to beef up our side at the same time. Jeez.
Posted by Alan at July 3, 2008 03:28 PM