ATTORNEY
GENERAL
OF
TEXAS
GREG
ABBOTT
June
12
2014
TheHonorable
Jeh
JohnsonSecretary
of
HomelandSecurity
U S
Department
of
HomelandSecurity
Washington.
DC
20528Dear
SecretaryJohnson,Texas
is
currentlydealing
with
an
extraordinary
influx
of
unaccompanied
minorsillegally
crossing
our
long
internationalborder
with
Mexico
With
theBorder
Patrol’sfocusshifted
to
thiscrisis
wehave
grave
concerns
that
dangerous
cartel
activity,
including
narcoticssmuggling
and
human
trafficking,
will
go
unchecked
because
Border
Patrol
resources
are
stretched
toothin
Securing
the
U.S.-Mexicoborder
is
the
federal
government’sresponsibility.Becausethat
simply
is
not
happening
theState
of
Texas
is
seekingemergencyfunding
to
help
support
state-basedborder
security
initiatives
In
the
Texas
Rio
GrandeValley
sector
alone the
U
S
Border
Patrolmade
more
than160 000
apprehensions
between
October
2013and
May
2014
an
increase
of
70
percent
overthe
same
periodthe
year
before
Authorities
arrested47 017
unaccompanied
minorsillegally
crossing
the
border
between
October
andMay
up92
percent
from
thesameperiod
a
year
earlier More
than
two-thirds
of
these
arrests—33.470—
were
in
the
Rio
Grande
Valley
sector
A
draftBorder
Patrol
memorandum
estimates
that
number
could
reach
90 000
in
the
fiscal
yearending
Sept 30
This
crisis
hasbeen
accelerated
by
federalgovernment
policies
that
as
U S
District
Judge
Andrew
S
Hanen
recentlywrote
are
rewarding
criminalconduct
instead
of
enforcing
the
current
laws ”Federal
governmentpoliciesthatreleaseunauthorizedimmigrants
from
custody
with
notices
to
appear
in
court
and
thatreuniteminors
apprehended
alone
in
the
U S
illegally
withfamily
membersalreadypresent
in
thecountry
only
encourages
the
continued
influx
of
unaccompanied
minors
that
has
helped
create
this
urgent
situation
on
our
southwestern
border
am
appealing
directly
to
youfor
immediateassistance
with
border
security
operationsalong
the
Texas-Mexico
border Theinflux
of
child
immigrants
has
so
overwhelmed
the
U S
Border
Patrol
thatfederalagents
are
devoting
time
and
resources
to
the
humanitarianaspects
of
theinflux
Therefore.
weare
concerned
federal
authorities
arenot
available
to
secure
the
border
and
successfully
stop
cross-bordercriminal
activity The
TexasDepartment
of
Public
Safety
DPS
has
a
proven
track
record
of
interdicting
intercepting
and
disrupting
the
criminal
operations
of
transnational
gangs
and
internationaldrug
cartels—including
illegal
smugglingoperations
by
thosecriminalorganizations.
The
Texas
DPS
is
prepared
to
swiftly
launch
a
significant
and
proven
border
security
operation
once
funding
is
available
The
cost
forthe
operation
is
POST
OFFICE
Box12548,
AUSTIN,
TEXAS
78711-2548
TEL:
512
463-2100
WWWTEXASATTORNEYGENERAL.GOV
A
Eq1
Opp’ t iy
Pri,,t,d
o
Rythd
P,p,.,
The
Honorable
Jeh
Johnson
une
12
2014
Page
2
approximately
1.3
millionper
week
and
is
necessary
tostern
thetide
of
unauthorizedentries
across
the
porous
U.S. Mexico
border.The
operational
costsreflect
overtime
forState
Troopersworking
12-hourshifts
and
otherexpenses
such
as
fuel
andlodging
as
well
as
overtime
for
locallaw
enforcementagencies
whichaugment
the
DPS
operations.
An
immediate
30
million
directedtoward
state
andlocal
law
enforcement
would
help
mitigate
the
crisis
at
hand
and
provide
the
Border
Patrol
the
assistance
it
needs
to
regain
control
of
the
border.The
30
million
requested
is
only
two
percent
of
the
amount
of
aidthe
President
is
asking
Congress
to
appropriate
in
tempor ly
aidtodeal
withthe
consequencesof
the
porous
border.The
short term
cost
ofbordersecurityenhancement
provided
by
Texas
should
leadto
significantly
lower
aid
costs
incurred
by
U.S.
taxpayers
in
thefuture
and
would
ensure
law
enforcement
atthe
border
continues
tobe
available
to
focus
on
narcotics
interdiction
human
trafficking
prevention
and
other
cartelactivity.
Unless
the
Department
of
HomelandSecurity
or
another
federal
agency
provides
funding
the
cartels—which
are
central
to
this
crisis—will
prevailbecause
they
profit
fromeachillegal
border
crossing.
With
the
requested
aid
though
the
Texas
DPScan
apply
its
provenrecord
of
success
tohelp
staunch
this
cartel
driven
bordersecurity
problem
In
addition
to
funds
for
the
Texas
Department
of
PublicSafety
urge
the
Department
of
Homeland
Security
to
step
up
its
efforts
to
prevent
these
illegal
crossings
before
theyoccur.
applaud
the
members
of
the
Border
Patrolwho
defend
our
border
but
theyare
overwhelmed.
Since2010.
the
number
ofapprehensions
along
the
Texas
Mexico
border
has
increased
by
morethan
90
percent.
Our
Stateneeds
an
increased
deployment
from
theBorder
Patrol
to
discourageyoung
persons
from
making
the
dangerous
andillegal
journey
so
far
from
their
homes.
Thank
youfor
considering
this
urgent
request.
Attorney
General
of
Texas
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