He's flirted with secession. He's said Obama's administration was "hell-bent" on socialism. He's made Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck honorary Texans. But until now, Rick Perry has stayed away from the sort of rabid and patently insane remarks about Nazi Germany that many of his fellow Republicans on the fringe right tend to embrace.
Scratch Nazi Germany and September 11 fear-mongering off the list. From the Texas Tribune:
“Do we think about looking back to the 1930s in Europe, the South Pacific in late 1941 or even the United States in early September of 2001? There were early warning signs in all of those time frames that were ignored. Too many lives were needlessly lost,” he said in a speech he delivered as part of the Texas Public Policy Foundation's Lone Star Issues series. “We ignore the current warning signs along our international border at our own peril.”
President Barack Obama will deploy 1,200 National Guard troops to help secure the U.S.-Mexico border, according to an administration official and an Arizona congresswoman.
Obama will also request $500 million for border protection and law enforcement activities, they said.
The National Guard troops will work on intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, intelligence and blocking drug trafficking.
Despite Rick Perry's ridiculous claims to the contrary, President Obama has actually been much stronger about border enforcement than his (and Perry's) predecessor, President George W. Bush. From a recent TIME magazine story, "Why GOP Senators Won't Play on Immigration Reform" we learn the following:
The Obama Administration has exceeded Bush Administration efforts on border control. Last year saw the highest number of people ever deported: 387,790, up from 116,782 in 2001 and 349,041 in 2008. Thus far this year, some 185,887 people have been deported, a record pace that, if maintained, will nearly double the number of deportations in 2010 to 604,133. The Administration has also doubled the number of agents assigned to the Border Enforcement Security Task Force and tripled intelligence analysts along the Southwest border.
I'll follow up on this later today or tomorrow, once we learn what portion of the new efforts are coming to Texas...
“We need more federal support for border security and border regions. We need more support for local police and sheriffs, who can enforce criminal laws. National Guard troops are not a long-term substitute for sustained federal commitment to border communities” — TX Gov. candidate Bill White (D) said in a statement to PMT
Rick Perry's Big Brother program is failing. From the Texas Tribune: "$153,800 Per Arrest"
During his 2006 re-election campaign, Perry promised to launch a virtual neighborhood watch program on the border, allowing internet viewers to troll for illegal crossers. He said he would spend $5 million and line the border with "hundreds" of cameras. Lawmakers didn't go for the idea, refusing to fund the cameras with state dollars. But four years later, Perry has invested a total of $4 million of federal grant money that he controls in the Texas Border Watch Program. Twenty-nine cameras have been installed on the 1,200-mile Texas-Mexico border, or one camera for every 41 miles of border. Internet viewers have helped police make a total of 26 arrests — that’s about $153,800 per arrest. And some border law agencies are not even using the cameras for police work.
Last week when Perry railed against Washington for not doing enough to curtail the violence of warring drug cartels in Mexico, I thought: You've been the governor 10 years; many of the leaders of these cartels are running their operations from inside Texas prisons. What the heck have you been doing?
It turns out: spending a boatload of money — without a lot of success. In recent years, Texas has littered the border with money, none of it very effective in stopping the flow of drugs or violence.
In 2005, a combined $35 million in state and federal funds was spent on Operation Linebacker, operated by rural sheriff's departments on the border. The deputies ticketed thousands of people for traffic violations and arrested a lot of unauthorized workers, but nabbed very few actual criminals or gang leaders.
She highlights another famous Perry fail on border security -- his beloved cameras:
Case in point: In 2006, Texas spent about $5 million to operate 13 cameras in Val Verde, Hidalgo and Cameron counties. Footage was broadcast live on the Internet. Ordinary citizens were asked to become spooks and monitor the site to watch for unauthorized border crossings, which is not only creepy but also ineffective. Few arrests were made. And the site was reportedly monitored by drug cartel leaders who used it to identify times when stretches of the border were unmonitored.
The Austin press corps consists of bureau reporters who follow day-to-day Texas politics. Many are on Spring Break vacation; others don't write about border stories, and some are actively ignoring key facts about the single biggest story since the election.
Here are the five key facts the Austin press corps is actively ignoring about Rick Perry's secret border plan:
Fact 1: Local Police Officials Say that Perry's Claims About Spillover Violence Are "Ridiculous"
We live on the border and have responsibility for our communities and our citizens. However, at this point we are learning about your plans from the media, along with everyone else. This makes it impossible for us to coordinate with your office to create the most effective strategy to keep our border communities safe.
Fact 3: Both Rick Perry and John Cornyn are Contradicting Themselves About the Border Violence
From the same McAllen Monitor story, we learn detail about how both Rick Perry and John Cornyn have contradicted themselves about the spillover violence. First, Cornyn:
Cornyn’s own statements Wednesday straddled both sides of that line.
“The spillover violence in Texas is real and escalating,” Cornyn and Hutchison wrote in their letter to the president. “Our border patrol agents and local law enforcement are more regularly engaged with gunmen associated with drug cartels.”
He contradicted himself, however, in a conference call with reporters later in the day in which he said, “As far as the Texas border is concerned, we have not had spillover violence, per se.”
Then, local Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño poitns out the hypocrisy from Rick Perry:
Describing the border region as plagued by drug violence has needlessly scared residents of the area while contributing to misperceptions in the rest of the country about the realities in the region, Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño said.
“How can you claim that the crime rate in this whole area has dropped, while at the same time saying that crime is out of control?” he said. “Explain that to me.”
Fact 4: Rick Perry is Actively Lying About Border Crime Rates
We rate Perry's sweeping statement based on an unreasonable manipulation of crime statistics -- the second instance of his administration touting questionable border crime numbers -- as Pants on Fire.
Fact 5: Rick Perry Has Not Told Anyone in Washington About His Plan, So They Can't Respond to His Request for Help
From a press release from Bill White, as reported by our own Todd Hill earlier in the day, we learn the following:
Today Bill White, former Houston Mayor and candidate for governor, pressed U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano for more resources and airborne surveillance of the Texas border.
"Secretary Napolitano told me this request would receive serious consideration. She also told me she would give a similar response to the Texas Governor if he talked to her about it, which he has not," said White.
Despite the mountain of facts, the Austin press corps is completely missing the story. Two examples from early in the day (as of 5:35pm):
This is in addition to a handful of other stories I discussed earlier in the day. What is particularly upsetting about the story in the Houston Chronicle is that it gives Mark Miner a full paragraph quote while ignoring all the facts I've outlined above. For journalists in Austin that are part of the Capitol press corps -- at least today -- they are relying on completely irrelevant quotes from campaign operatives and ignoring the basic facts of what has been raised.
We'll stay on top of the actual facts and news as best we can in the coming days. Please send any tips, newsclips, or other stories to press@burntorangereport.com, or leave a comment below.
Key Point: Rick Perry's secret border plan doesn't involve local officials, and he's clamoring about a problem that the McAllen Police Chief says does not even exist!
The Texas Border Coalition -- a group of mayors, city, and county officials from along Texas' border -- are upset that Rick Perry has failed to consult him on his secret border plan. And understandably so -- between his lies about reducing crime rate on the broder and attempt to scream about Washington instead of work with those in charge -- Perry is playing politics with an extremely dangerous and violent situation facing Texas citizens.
But while some argue that Mexican drug violence has spilled over to Texas and is directly affecting border residents, others maintain that significant spillover has yet to occur.
“The impression that we have is that violence is overtaking Mexico to the extent that we have an almost lawless situation there,” McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez said. “But to suggest that that threat currently exists for U.S. communities is ridiculous.”
Yesterday, the Texas Border Coalition issued a release asking Perry to clue them into his plan. The members of the Texas Border Coalition include the following local elected officials -- people you would think may know something about what is actually going on in their communities:
Along with my elected colleagues on the border, I have watched with interest the announcement that you are activating the first phase of your Spillover Violence Contingency Plan.
We live on the border and have responsibility for our communities and our citizens. However, at this point we are learning about your plans from the media, along with everyone else. This makes it impossible for us to coordinate with your office to create the most effective strategy to keep our border communities safe.
We would ask that you do us the courtesy of consulting with our coalition of elected mayors and county judges along the border, so that the state’s activities can be coordinated and we can have the best possible response to ensure that no violence spills over onto Texas soil.
We appreciate your concern for the border region and the safety of our citizens. Please keep in mind that as Texans who live, work and raise our families in close proximity to the Texas-Mexico border, no one has a bigger stake in border security than we do.
Thank you for your consideration. You can reach me or my city manager, Frances Rodriguez, at Del Rio City Hall at (830) 774-8558.
Sincerely,
Efrain Valdez Mayor of Del Rio and Chairman, Texas Border Coalition
Perry's claim that his border security efforts have led to a 60 percent drop in crime doesn't hold water. The calculation he touts doesn't consider crimes committed in cities and towns where most border residents live. It also compared two calendar quarters rather than weighing years' worth of data.
Crime may have temporarily subsided in some rural areas of the border region.
However, it's not clear how much of any decline can be traced to the state's investment in security.
We rate Perry's sweeping statement based on an unreasonable manipulation of crime statistics -- the second instance of his administration touting questionable border crime numbers -- as Pants on Fire.
Rick Perry's lies will continue coming throughout the campaign -- great work by the Statesman on holding his feet to the fire on this outrageous claim. We look forward to their continued new work throughout the coming months, as they redefine fact-check journalism in Texas.
One of the most important developments in the effort by border residents to combat the national effort to secure the border using a wall or fence is gaining traction.
Developed in Texas, the concept of a border levee system is gaining significant traction with Michael Chertoff, Secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security, approving the levee concept in Hidalgo County.
The border wall (as originally proposed) will have a severe negative impact on border communities in Texas without any promise of actually making the border more secure or reducing the influx of illegal immigrants.
The border levee concept enhances existing barriers along the border while minimizing the impact to counties, cities and private property holders.
(Oh how I love numbers... - promoted by Sam Jones)
Here's a list that's been on my mind since last year, a list of the hundred "least-educated" "cities" in the country. Texas features prominently.
The level of education is measured by the percentage of people with (or without) high school diplomas or college degrees, and "city" is defined as a place with a population of 5,000 or more. Many are merely "census-designated places" rather than actual cities. The "least-educated city" list, of course, signifies much more than educational attainment level. The cities and places tend to be low-income, low-opportunity and isolated--they are pockets of poverty--the poorest of the poor. Fifty-four are in California, 24 are in Texas.
It was bound to happen; the chickens will come home to roost. Recently three National Guardsmen shoot up a family carne asada (barbeque) while on a "beer-fueled" joy ride near Eagle Pass, TX.
The last time the US stationed troops along the Rio Grande, a Marine shot and killed a Texas teenager tending to his goats at his home. Back in 1997 when a US military unit called Joint Task Force Six or JTF 6 was asked to assist the Border Patrol in patrolling the borders for drug traffickers, a Marine shot and killed a Texas teenager within sight of his home. Two things resulted from that day - Esequiel Hernandez Jr. became the first civilian killed by US troops since the student massacre at Kent State University in 1970 and Cpl. Clemente Manuel Banuelos became the first US Marine to kill a fellow citizen on US soil.
On May 20, 1997, Esequiel Hernandez Jr. became the first civilian killed by U.S. troops since the student massacre at Kent State University in 1970. His death led to a temporary suspension of military patrols near the U.S.-Mexican border. And in August, the government paid his family $1.9 million to settle a wrongful death claim.
Cpl. Clemente Manuel Banuelos became the first U.S. Marine to kill a fellow citizen on U.S. soil. Four investigations and three grand juries probed the May 1997 shooting. Each concluded that because Banuelos followed orders, he was innocent of criminal wrongdoing. Those who issued the orders were never tried.
