|
|
|
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. |