Annual Border Conference Puts El Paso in Spotlight

Statement

Annual Border Conference Puts El Paso in Spotlight

On Thursday, I announced that Speaker Nancy Pelosi will provide the keynote address at the 13th Annual Border Issues Conference in Washington, D.C. Each year, I work in conjunction with the U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce to organize this event to bring together business professionals, citizens, and policy makers to address the unique issues and challenges that confront border communities such as ours.

With the surge of violence along the U.S.-Mexico border, as the result of President Calderon's courageous efforts to combat Mexico's drug cartels, this year's conference is drawing greater attention from policy makers on both sides of the aisle. This is a critical time in Mexico's history, and although the Calderon Administration is taking all the necessary steps to stabilize cities such as Juarez, the country's success will ultimately depend on the willingness of the United States to help in this effort.

As we have seen first hand, the issue of drug-related violence is simply not Mexico's problem - it is an issue that transcends the border and must be addressed at all levels of government in the United States. Our local leaders and law enforcement officers must work closely with officials at the state and federal levels to ensure that we are doing all we can to keep our community safe. For this reason, I am pleased that Mayor John Cook and Juarez Mayor Jose Reyes Ferriz will participate in this year's conference along with other high ranking officials from the U.S. and Mexico.

One of the main objectives of this conference is to provide policy makers with a more complete and accurate understanding of these issues and offer effective solutions. This year's conference will feature many distinguished participants from the United States and Mexico including Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan of Mexico; Assistant Secretary for the State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, David Johnson; and Kathleen Walker, National President of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. FOX News Senior Correspondent, Geraldo Rivera, who recently reported on location from El Paso and Juarez, will also participate.

As Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and a border-region Representative, I share a particularly strong interest in ensuring that the safety of our border communities is at the top of our national agenda. In January, I met with President Felipe Calderon and other top congressional leaders in Washington, D.C. to discuss additional measures that would assist Mexico in furthering efforts to restore peace and stability in Mexico and prevent the violence from spilling into the U.S. His meeting with Congress and with President Obama underscored the close relationship between our two countries, and I am confident we will strengthen our strategic partnership under the new administration and Congress.

This week alone, five congressional hearings were held in the U.S. House of Representatives on Mexico's drug related violence. Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to meet with the Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, the former Governor of Arizona, who, as a former border state executive, has a deep understanding of the complexities surrounding this issue. Addressing the violence in Mexico is one of the Secretary's top priorities. Since January, I have also held one-on-one meetings with Attorney General, Eric Holder, FBI Director Robert Muller, and National Security Advisor General James L. Jones (Ret.).

I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress and the administration to ensure that America is doing its part to help address the violence in Mexico. For more information, please visit my website at www.reyes.house.gov.

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