80R14746 CLE-F
 
  By: Swinford H.C.R. No. 193
 
 
 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
         WHEREAS, A porous Texas-Mexico border constitutes a
  significant threat to the safety and security of all Texans, and
  until the border is secure, the citizens of Texas will be vulnerable
  to organized crime, violent gangs, and international terrorists;
  and
         WHEREAS, Supported by former military commandos and
  international gangs, powerful and ruthless Mexican criminal
  organizations engage in kidnapping, torture, and murder to support
  their drug trafficking and human smuggling operations along the
  border; and
         WHEREAS, While these activities affect every community in
  Texas, residents on both sides of the border are victimized by the
  criminal organizations that terrorize the entire region; and
         WHEREAS, A vulnerable border also allows international
  terrorist organizations such as al Qaeda to smuggle operatives into
  the United States undetected; in a recent one-year period, 234
  illegal aliens from countries with a known al Qaeda presence were
  apprehended along the Texas-Mexico border; and
         WHEREAS, These captures are particularly alarming given that
  Texas is a uniquely desirable target for terrorism with the state's
  heavily populated urban areas, critical infrastructure and key
  resources, and nationally significant agricultural, financial, and
  petrochemical industries; and
         WHEREAS, Although protecting the sovereignty of the
  Texas-Mexico border is a federal responsibility, the federal
  government has been unwilling and unable to implement needed border
  security measures; such inaction leaves Texans unprotected from
  terrorist and criminal organizations that seek to cause harm to the
  residents of the state; and
         WHEREAS, The importance of a secure border to economic growth
  and the quality of life in Texas has prompted the state to initiate
  border security operations to significantly reduce terrorist
  threats and violent crime in the region, and it is fitting that
  these efforts receive the state's full support; now, therefore, be
  it
         RESOLVED, That the 80th Legislature of the State of Texas
  hereby declare that the current threat to public safety along the
  Texas-Mexico border requires decisive action to protect all
  residents of the state; and, be it further
         RESOLVED, That the legislature express support for ongoing
  state-led border security operations to control the Texas-Mexico
  border and ensure the safety of the people of Texas.