NDN Blog

Secretary Napolitano and Distinguished Panel Discuss Progress on 21st Century Border

NDN/NPI hosted a key note speech from Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano where she outlined the positive progress made along the Southwest Border. In her speech the Secretary emphasized that the Department of Homeland Security has made significant steps towards creating a "21st Century Border."

In her speech she focused on tangible evidence that the United States has fundamentally changed the countries approach to the border, making big steps in creating a more harmonious region.

The border is simply not the same as it was 2 years ago, or even 1 year ago. In terms of man power resources and technology and in terms of the relationships we have built with our federal, state, local and tribal partners along the border and in terms with what we are doing with Mexico itself, particularly with the Calderon administration.

...The amount of resources we have put at the border with Mexico shows how serious this administration is, so given the deployment of resources, given the statistical frame work; it is simply inaccurate to state, as to many have that the border with Mexico is overrun or is out of control. This statement i think is sometime made to score some political points.

...But its wrong, It is just plain wrong, and continuing to make these assertions in the face of everything that’s happening and everything that’s been done, not only has negative consequences for our own border communities but it also disrespects the significant efforts of the law enforcement men and women we have put down on that border who work every day, day in and day out to make sure that we do have a safe and secure border region and that we keep it that way.

Following the speech, a distinguished panel met and gave remarks followed by a session of Q and A. The panel included: John Morton, Director, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Alejandro Mayorkas, Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, David V. Aguilar, Deputy Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Alan Krieger, Mayor, Yuma, AZ and Al Zapanta, President, U.S. Mexico Chamber of Commerce. The video of the full event including the panel discussion can be seen below.

David V. Aguilar, Deputy Commissioner, U.S Customs and Border Protection opening statement gives some statistical evidence that shows the progress on the border. This can be seen in the video around the 56:30 mark:

If we go back to 1992 places such as San Diego, Tucson, El Paso, and McAllen four of our major cities along our southwest border. Since then those cities have grown tremendously. In  2009 violent crime in San Diego has fallen by 20 percent, in Tucson it has fallen by 17 percent, in El Paso it has dropped by 34 percent and 7 percent in McAllen. McAllen the population has growth has gone up by 33 percent since that time period, 23 percent in El Paso. The growth rate has been tremendous the drop in violent crime has been tremendous as well. We have doubled the number of people in the border patrol, over 17,500 border patrol agents along the southwest border.

Additionally Secretary Napolitano and the Secretary of the Department of Commerce Gary Locke have written an editorial on the border being open for business in the Wall Street Journal and can be read here.

NDN has also released a report detailing the progress made on the border here.

NDN In The News: Napolitano Speech Details Progress Made Along US-Mexican Border

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano gave a strong defense of the Administration's border enforcement at an event hosted by NDN/NPI on Friday.

Julia Preston of The New York Times has her story here:

"Obama Administration officials, embattled on all sides on immigration, are pushing back to defend their record on border enforcement and deportations of illegal immigrants."

Perhaps most importantly, Secretary Napolitano called on law makers in Congress to stop moving the goal post on Border Security as a means to stop work on a legislative overhaul on the nations immigration laws:

"Ms. Napolitano vented her frustration with Republican lawmakers who have said they will not consider overhaul legislation President Obama supports, which would include legal status for illegal immigrants, until the southwest border is secure. “We can’t keep moving the goal post and saying, when the border is safe we will get to it,” Ms. Napolitano said of the president’s proposal, known as comprehensive immigration reform."

In her speech she noted that the Southwest has seen:

“the biggest surge of manpower and technology to the southwest border ever." The Border Patrol has increased to nearly 21,000 agents, she said, and illegal crossings have fallen by more than a third in the last two years. For the first time, unmanned aerial drones are scanning along the entire length of the border.

The historic efforts on the border have been coupled with the deportation of a record number of undocumented immigrants at 390,000 over the last two years.

Secretary Napolitano's full speach can be seen below, and a recounting of her speech can be found here:

Secretary Napolitano Highlights Gains In Safety And The Positive Economic Impact Of The Southwest Border

Today, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano gave an address with NDN at the Newseum, she covered a wide variety of subjects below are some of the highlights.

“Security and economic prosperity represent two sides of the same coin,” said Secretary Napolitano.  “We are committed to further strengthening our border security efforts, which will reinforce and help expand legal trade and travel in the border region.” 

Over the course of her speech, Secretary Napolitano highlighted the Department’s efforts to strengthen border security through the Southwest Border Initiative.

To date the Southwest Border Initiative has:

  • Increased the number of Border Patrol agents from approximately 10,000 in 2004 to more than 20,700 today
  • Doubled the number of personnel assigned to Border Enforcement Security Task Forces
  • Deployed more than a quarter of all U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel to the Southwest border region—the most ever.

Perhaps most importantly, Secretary Napolitano highlighted the unprecedented collaboration between the United States and Mexico. 

The Secretary repeatedly noted that the cooperation between law enforcement officials from Mexico and the United States, the intelligence sharing and joint operations along the Southwest border is at unprecedented levels. 

The speech also touched on the important joint training programs with Mexican law enforcement agencies and, for the first time in history, Border Patrol agents are coordinating joint operations along the Southwest border with Mexican Federal Police to combat human trafficking and smuggling in both nations.

Finally the speech touched on the great strides made by the Obama Administration in facilitating legal trade and travel across the border by:

  • Working with local leaders to update infrastructure and reduce wait times at our Southwest border ports of entry while increasing security.
  • Working with more than 1,700 private-sector partners in Mexico who have been enrolled in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) trusted-shipper program,
  • Deploying 250 new officers to ports along the border as a result of the FY 2010 Border Security Supplemental. 

According to the Secretary these investments have yielded concrete results, with imports crossing the Southwest border into the United States increasing 22 percent from fiscal year 2009 to fiscal year 2010.

21st Century Border Initiative: Meet Alan Krieger, Mayor, Yuma Arizona

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will be giving a speech on the administrations vision for a 21st Century Border on April 1st at 9:30 AM ET. Immediately following the Secretary's speech there will be a roundtable of distinguished speakers:

John Morton, Director, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Alejandro Mayorkas,
Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
David V. Aguilar,
Deputy Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Alan Krieger,
Mayor, Yuma, AZ
Al Zapanta,
President, U.S. Mexico Chamber of Commerce

Ahead of the speech NDN caught up with Mayor Krieger and asked him to discuss what he saw as the most important component of the 21st Century Border Initiative.  He responded:

The increased security focus on the entire U.S. Border , has highlighted the need to continue building trade partners.  These partners will help provide safe, secure, communities on both sides of the Border.  The efforts of the Department of Homeland Security to reach out to local communities for input, reaffirms the commitment we all have to solve the issues in the 21st Century.

After years of investment by the federal government along the border between the United States and Mexico there has been significant progress in creating a more harmonious region.

This has happened due to several developments: 

Unprecedented amounts of resources allocated to the southwest border. Link

A drop in crime along the US side of the border with little spillover of violence from Mexican cartels.Link

A historic number of deportations of criminal undocumented immigrants. Link

Finally an increase in narcotics seizures and a leveling of  illegal migration into the U.S. Link

For more on this please be sure to join us at Forward Together/Avanzando Juntos/Avançando Juntos Conference Looking at the Changing Politics of the Americas on April 11t. 

Secretary Napolitano's speech and roundtable can be seen by webcast at 9:30 AM ET on April 1st here.

The Washington Times Gets It Way Wrong On Border Security

Yesterday the Washington Times wrote an editorial on violence on the border, it is big on hyperbole and rhetoric and very soft on nuance and fact.

The full editorial can be read here, however there is one section in particular which much be addressed as the facts presented are very very misconstrued:

Homeland Security's plans for a few more agents hardly offset a proposed June pullback of the 1,200 National Guardsmen deployed after the Krentz murder. "When the secretary of Homeland Security withdraws the National Guard from the border after they've been doing such a good job, we don't know if they are really serious about securing our border," Republican Sen. John McCain warned at a Tucson press conference.

According to information presented in the Washington Times Editorial, Secretary Napolitano has, "promised to deploy 250 additional agents, with another 300 to follow if the agency's fiscal 2012 budget is approved." What they dont mention is that those numbers are in addition to the historically high numbers of personnel on the ground. The key part of this quote is if the 2012 budget is approved.

The reason this is such a key part of the argument is that the Congressional GOP currently in the majority have called for cuts to DHS in the 2012 budget. These cuts would, among other things, directly affect the ability of the Department of Homeland Security to deploy more troops to the border. The full lists of cuts put up by the Majority Appropriations Committee can still be seen here.

Which is especially ironic, given that as the editorial also notes both Arizona Senators have requested a total of 3,000 National Guards Troops. To be clear last year in the Emergency Border Funds Supplemental passed by Congress and the Obama Administration historic levels of resources where deployed to the border region.

What is especially troubling about this editorial, is that while there is no mention of the positive steps taken to make the border safer, there is also no acknowledgement that the if the GOP are successful in cutting the budget to DHS, then virtually all of those steps will be frozen in place or in some cases scaled back.

After years of investment by the federal government along the border between the United States and Mexico there has been significant progress in creating a more harmonious region.

This has happened due to unprecedented amounts of resources allocated to the southwest border. This has led to a drop in crime along the US side of the border with little spillover of violence from Mexican cartels, a historic number of deportations of criminal undocumented immigrants and an increase in narcotics seizures and a leveling off of illegal migration into the U.S.

Which is to say it is hard to criticize DHS for their strategy, when there is no acknowledgement of the positive steps taken forward, but even harder when in the midst of executing a plan that has shown demonstrable improvements, the GOP may cut the funding which would allow DHS to fully implement their plan.

21st Century Border Initiative: Meet Al Zapanta, President U.S. Mexico Chamber of Commerce

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will be giving a speech on the administrations vision for a 21st Century Border on April 1st at 9:30 AM ET. Immediately following the Secretary's speech there will be a roundtable of distinguished speakers:

John Morton, Director, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Alejandro Mayorkas,
Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
David V. Aguilar,
Deputy Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Alan Krieger,
Mayor, Yuma, AZ
Al Zapanta,
President, U.S. Mexico Chamber of Commerce

Ahead of the speech NDN caught up with Al Zapanta,  President of the U.S. Mexico Chamber of Commerce, and asked him to discuss what he saw as the most important component of the 21st Century Border Initiative.  Mr. Zapanta responded:

“Establishing business, educational, and cultural relations between border cities is essential for the growth and development of communities on both sides of the U.S.-Mexican border. 

These interactions are greatly facilitated by the 42 border crossings that exist along the 2000-mile border, three of these being opened in the last nine months”

The idea of a seamless integrated border which is a focal point of economic activity for the United States and Mexico is at the heart of the 21st Century Border Initiative. 

Chappell Lawson, former Executive Director and Senior Policy Advisor to the Commissioner U.S. Customs and Border Patrol at the Department of Homeland Security. has written extensively on this idea in a report he helped write, Managing the United States-Mexico Border: Cooperative Solutions to Common Challenges.

Dr. Lawson will continue to examine this idea of how best to manage the border region on a panel with two Border Mayors from Arizona at Forward Together/Avanzando Juntos/Avançando Juntos – A Conference Looking at the Changing Politics of the Americas on April 11th

Secretary Napolitano's speech and roundtable can be seen by webcast at 9:30 AM ET on April 1st here.

The Republicans’ Hispanic problem

Chris Cillizza of The Washington Post wrote an analysis on the explosion in the Hispanic population shown in recent Census reports and how they may effect politics in the future. Mainly Cillizza notes that if the Republican Party continues with their current anti-immigrant rhetoric they may face a dire situation in the future. In his post Cillizza notes:

"If demographics is destiny, then Republicans may have a major political problem on their hands.  Why? Because numbers released by the Census Bureau late last week showed massive growth in the nation’s Hispanic population, a community that Republicans have struggled mightily to reach in recent years."

To back up his assertion Cillizza goes into the raw Census data:

"The numbers are eye-opening. Hispanics now account for more than 16 percent of the total population, making them the largest minority group in the country. More than half of all population growth in the United States over the past decade came from Hispanics. Perhaps most amazing is that nearly a quarter — 23 percent — of all children age 17 or younger are Latino. That’s a major problem for Republicans, given that in the 2008 presidential election, Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) — far from the GOP’s most ardent advocate of stricter immigration laws — won just 31 percent of the Hispanic vote, according to exit polls."

Cillizza is not the only one who is worried, GOP Strategists have expressed some trepidation:

"Of the nine states where the Hispanic population grew by 100 percent or more between 2000 and 2010, McCain won seven of them: Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, South Carolina, South Dakota and Tennessee. That means that what had been reliably red states for decades are slowly — or not so slowly — seeing huge growth among what, for the moment, is a reliably Democratic constituency.Add to that the fact that the four states with the country’s largest Hispanic population — California, Florida, New York and Texas — will account for 143 electoral votes for the next 10 years. That’s more than half of the electoral votes a candidate needs to be elected president. California and New York already are reliably Democratic, while Texas remains, for now, reliably Republican. Florida has been pivotal in the past three presidential elections and is likely to be again in 2012."

The full article can be read here.

Over Last Decade Hispanics Accounted for More Than Half of U.S. Population Increase

New Census data shows that Hispanics make up 1 in 6 people in the United States, contributing to more then half of the United States population growth in the last decade.

Hope Yen of the Associated Press has more here, including a very cool graphic which lets you see the change in demographics in the United States over the last ten years.

In a surprising show of growth, Hispanics accounted for more than half of the U.S. population increase over the last decade, exceeding estimates in most states. Also, pulled by migration to the Sun Belt, America's population center edged westward on a historic path to leave the Midwest.

Ethnic minorities as a whole make up a huge percentage of the population growth of the country in the last decade, with Hispanics making up a huge number of those:

Racial and ethnic minorities are expected to make up an unprecedented 90 percent of the total U.S. growth since 2000, due to immigration and higher birth rates for Latinos. Currently the fastest growing group, Hispanics are on track to exceed 50 million, or roughly 1 in 6 Americans; among U.S. children, Hispanics are now roughly 1 in 4.

To recap 50% percent of the last decade's population growth in the US is due to Hispanics. Perhaps even more eye popping is that 1 in 4 American children are now Hispanic. These numbers are far higher then original estimates. States which originally had not seen much growth in their population have seen surges in growth thanks to Hispanics:

Based on a Pew Hispanic Center analysis, the 2010 count of Hispanics was on track to be 900,000 higher than expected as their ranks surpassed census estimates in roughly 40 states. Many of their biggest jumps were in the South, including Alabama, Louisiana, North Carolina and Louisiana, where immigrants made large inroads over the last decade.

The full Pew Report can be read here.

The 21st Century Border and The Changing Politics of the Americas

In May of 2010 President Barack Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderon drafted a Declaration by The Government Of The United States Of America and The Government Of The United Mexican States The  Concerning Twenty-First Century Border Management.

This landmark declaration pledged both countries would work together to create a more harmonious border region which focused on enhancing security and a renewed emphasis on improving the economic benefits that our countries share.

Please make sure to join us on April 11th for Forward Together/Avanzando Juntos/Avançando Juntos - A Conference Looking at the Changing Politics of the Americas where we will be discussing the new level of co-operation and ways in which the United States and Mexico have worked together to make the border region safer and more economically efficient.

From the Declaration, The United States and Mexico: Hereby express their commitment to strengthen cooperation in:

  • Enhancing economic competitiveness by expediting lawful trade, while preventing the transit of illegal merchandise between their two countries,
  • Facilitating lawful travel in a manner that also prevents the illegal movement of people between their two countries,
  • Sharing information that enhances secure flows of goods and people, and
  • Disrupting and dismantling transnational criminal organizations and punishing their members and supporters.

Over the past year and a half NDN has been fortunate to see just how much cooperation has occurred between the United States and Mexico along the southern border.

In particular it has been truly exciting to see a coalition of Border Mayors from both Mexico and the United States come together to focus on security, infrastructure and the positive economic benefits to our countries.

Mayors video testimonies from the U.S. Mexico Border Mayors Conference Roundtable which highlighted the advances in safety along the border make a compelling case for the positive side of cooperation between Mexico and The United States.

 

In this video Mayor John Cook of El Paso, TX talks about the important positive impact of Mexican retailers on the economy of his city.

The Border Mayors also released a letter touting the important work done in making the region safer, in the letter they note:

The results of the Southwest Border Initiative speak for themselves:

  • Border cities are some of the safest in the nation. Border Patrol apprehensions,
  • A key indicator of illegal immigration, have decreased 36 percent in the past two years.
  • At the same time, we have seen increased seizures of southbound illegal bulk cash and weapons as well as northbound drugs. 
  • Since beginning the Southwest Border Initiative in 2009, Immigration and Customs Enforcement removed almost 800,000 illegal immigrants from our country and almost 200,000 of them were convicted criminals.

Please be sure to join us for our event on April 11th, where we will delve deeply into the issues raised above while also focusing in on the changing politics of Latin America and the evolving relationship between the United States and Mexico. Make sure to RSVP HERE.

President Obama Takes A Strong Stand On Border Security

President Barack Obama, in a recent interview with KOAT TV News Albuquerque  noted that the resources that his administration has sent to the border are significant:

Video and a read out from the interview can be seen here, President Obama talked about the resources sent to the border:

“We have significantly have increased border security, border patrols. The resources we are putting in at the federal level are higher than we've ever had. Obviously we are still concerned considering what's happening on the other side of the border,” Obama said.

While, the President noted that the Mexican Drug cartel's have become increasingly more sophisticated, he also noted that the Border Patrol has become much more aggressive in their tactics to suppress cartel operations"

Obama said drug cartels are evolving their operations and that places a larger burden on border patrols. “We are getting much more serious about cracking down on, gun running, drug running, cash that's flowing down that's helping to finance these cartels,” Obama said.

Finally, he noted that the only way in which this situation would get better is if the United States and Mexico continued to work together:

The president said the only way to stop the drug cartels is by increasing cooperation with the Mexican government on both sides of the border. It’s something he said he’s talking about right now with Mexico President Felipe Calderon.

 

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