Tours Region With Sheriffs, Border Patrol Agents, Texas State Troopers
Governor Larry Hogan today visited the U.S. Mexico-border, where he met with state and local law enforcement leaders to discuss the urgent need for bipartisan action to secure the southern border.
“I came to the border to get a firsthand understanding of this crisis, and what I’ve seen should appall every American,” Governor Hogan said. “This is a humanitarian catastrophe that is harming our communities and wreaking havoc across the country. Every day Washington lets this crisis continue without bipartisan action, they are failing the American people. For decades, politicians have played campaign politics with this issue instead of actually just solving the problem. Enough is enough. The solutions are not complicated. In the Senate, I will fight to make both parties finally put the politics aside and get this done.”
Texas Transnational Intelligence Center (TTIC). Governor Hogan started his visit to the border by receiving a briefing from Democratic border sheriffs J.E. “Eddie” Guerra of Hidalgo County and Sheriff Urbino “Benny” Martinez of Brooks County on the state of the border crisis. The briefing included a tour of the TTIC, the nucleus of Texas’ transnational crime response. The center monitors all the crime along the Texas/Mexico border and gang activity across the state with the goal of stemming the flow of illegal crossings and drug smuggling.
National Border Patrol Council. Next, Governor Hogan met with Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Regional Director Victor Escalon, Sheriff Martinez, and representatives of the National Border Patrol Council to discuss ways to prevent crossings over the Rio Grande River, one of the hotspots for illegal crossings.
Tour of Rio Grande. Governor Hogan received a riverine briefing and tour with the Texas Department of Public Safety and Texas State Troopers. During the tour, Governor Hogan was briefed on the high frequency of crossings along the river and measures that are needed to curb the crisis.
South Texans’ Property Rights Association. Governor Hogan met with representatives of the South Texans’ Property Rights Association to hear about the unique challenges the border crisis imposes on landowners, from property damage to escalating water rights disputes with Mexico. These challenges have ripple effects across the national supply chain.
