Operation Rio Grande
Operation Rio Grande
My fellow Texans
With more than twelve hundred miles of border shared with Mexico, Texas is clearly at the center of America's homeland security efforts.
But the federal government is not acting fast enough to secure our border and protect our citizens.
Illegal activity in the region is escalating, and criminal organizations have taken operational control along certain segments of the Mexican side of the border.
Well-armed narco-terrorists are becoming increasingly bold. Texas law officers have confronted drug smugglers carrying military rifles... seized weapon stockpiles that included grenades and explosives... and a few have been told to "stay off the river" or their families would be killed.
That's why I have launched Operation Rio Grande... a comprehensive approach to border crime that uses intelligence, a new command and control structure, and additional state law enforcement resources to fight back against these criminal organizations.
We have deployed a rapid response team of state troopers to troubled locations... as well as additional state law enforcement personnel to aid patrols in key areas.
The state is sending narcotics and criminal intelligence teams to support covert patrols and surveillance activities. We are using DPS aviation assets in conjunction with local border sheriffs. And we are also activating the DPS Swat Team and dispatching expert criminal search teams with canine assets to the border region.
All of these activities are being coordinated by state emergency management officials, and will build upon the $10 million border security effort I announced last year called Operation Linebacker.
Enforcing our international border remains the responsibility of the federal government. But Texas cannot wait for Washington to act while our families and communities are threatened.
With Operation Rio Grande, Texas will take the lead role in coordinating state and local efforts to detect, track and deter criminal activity along the border.
And until the federal government lives up to its responsibility, Texas will stand in the gap because a strong Texas border means a safer America.
http://www.governor.state.tx.us/divisions/press/radio/transcript.2006-02-15