As you saw here on Action 4 News last week, U.S. Secretary Janet Napolitano traveled to the valley recently but the media only captured certain parts of her visit.
Now Customs and Border Protection gives us additional insight into the areas the secretary toured and just how safe our border is, thanks to the undaunted efforts of agents, officers and pilots within CBP.
“The resources have been put on the SWB and they were put here for good reason,” said DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano. “That's where the needs have been greatest and it remains where the needs are greatest.”
Secretary Janet Napolitano didn’t spend her time in closed door meetings, she hit the ground running alongside CBP Acting Commissioner David Aguilar to check out operations from Rio Grande City to a hotbed for smuggling along a stretch of river near Mission.
“While I can read every memo and see every chart and view every map there is, there is nothing that beats actually seeing something on the ground yourself to give you a sense of what's really going on,” said Napolitano.
Acting Commissioner for CBP David Aguilar said the secretary saw the challenges of terrain and opportunities that reside within the law enforcement community.
With national and state news reports focusing on border security everyday, who better to tell the valley what is going on with the effort to secure the border while facilitating lawful trade and travel.
Napolitano explained that the amount of illegal immigrant traffic along our nation’s South West Border is at its lowest point since the early 1970’s.
But also stated that the amount of drug, gun and cash seizures all are up and that their focus is in the right place.
The secretary also made mention that CBP is proactive and that the men and women who work at these ports and the agents who protect the areas are better positioned now than they ever have been.
In fiscal year 2011 at eight South Texas ports extending from Brownsville to Del Rio CBP seized $13.3 million in unreported currency, 258 firearms and 51,291 rounds of ammunition.
The Border Patrol meantime was responsible for seizing over 1 million pounds of Marijuana and apprehending 59,243 illegal immigrants, again that was reported for 2011.
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