Calling it “the most significant vulnerability to the State of Texas,” Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott outlined last week a broad strategy to secure the Texas-Mexico border.
In a telephone interview, Abbott said as governor he would work to put “more boots on the ground” at the border, improve communication and cooperation between state and local and federal agencies and increase the use of technology, all of which would be funded largely by seizures of illegal assets through aggressive prosecutions of money laundering operations.
This is pure silliness for a number of reasons. First, the border is essentially secure now thanks to a massive federal Border Patrol buildup. The smuggling of both drugs and humans primarily happens through the checkpoints, which are under federal control and not something Texas state officials can do anything about. And Texas border towns are among the safest places in the state - if you were going to focus resources where the crime actually is, it'd be Houston and Dallas, not El Paso and McAllen.“I believe our crackdown and taking of transnational gang and international drug cartel assets will fund a large part of the expansion of operations we need on the border,” he said.
But the biggest fallacy Abbott's promoting is the idea that asset forfeiture would fund all these extra "boots on the ground." Several of Texas' now-defunct regional narcotics task forces tried this "eat what you kill" strategy after Governor Perry cut of their funding in 2006. None of them were able to make it work. And Abbott's own asset forfeiture division at the AG's office hasn't been able to tap into all this extra money, so why would that change if he becomes governor? Forfeiture funds are unpredictable, unreliable, and vastly insufficient. Law enforcement may enjoy temporary windfalls but in aggregate the drug war is a money pit, not a money maker.
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30 comments:
Let us do some brain-storming on Grits for a while: How to raise funds to allow Mr. Abbott to look good as Governor, vis a vis securing an already secure border. I'll bet there are enough people huddling around their AC vents on this hot summer Sunday, reading this blog, to come up with some ideas. Here are a few:
1. Put a hefty surcharge on the fees paid to use the toll roads the Texas GOP has fostered. That surcharge to go to "Abbott's Secure Border Fund."
2. Insist that the State collect the maximum fines from large corporations which violate Texas food safety regulations. There have been some doozies. Now, all too often, the corps pay the minimalistic fines assessed by the State, and frequently agreed to by the AG's office, simply as a matter of doing business, and go on with the same behavior. Could be a bottom-less well for ASBF.
3. When a corporation is found criminally liable for violating a State food safety law or regulation, or air- or water-quality law or regulation, or a federal law which the State has jurisdiction to apply and enforce, impose the maximum fine and IN ADDITION indict the humans in the Corp HQ and assess fines against them if found guilty.
4. Allow the cultivation of cannabis for personal use, tax it, and earmark the tax revenue for Abbot's Secure Border Fund.
Let your inner mad-dog run wild.
As a matter of personal privilege I wish to change the name of the Fund to "Greg Abbott's Border Security Fund."
Thank you.
"First, the border is essentially secure now thanks to a massive federal Border Patrol buildup."
Ask a Texas border rancher.
Anon 5:51.
What are you referring to? What would a Texas border rancher tell us and what part of the Texas border does he or she ranch?
I trust you have facts and not anecdotal "evidence".
Anecdotal evidence....sounds like one of them high falutin terms.
I'm not as smart as you are with the fancy words. Border ranchers live with the problem 24 hours a day/7 days a week.
Go back to smoking whatever it is you smoke.
http://protectyourtexasborder.com/BorderNews.aspx
"Ask a Texas border rancher. "
Then, ask them to prove it. They'll mumble a bunch of nonsense and lies that the press has debunked and then fade away.
Open borders!
Anon 6:49
I don't smoke.
There is nothing highfalutin about the word Anecdotal. Look it up in your dictionary. You do have a dictionary, don't you? I find it helpful to keep one right here next to the puter, so I can look up words like 'highfalutin."
What is the problem that border ranchers live with???? Can you articulate it or is it just something you've made up?
I have never understood why so many people want to claim that the "border is secure". Anyone who has land in South Texas or drives the roads thereof know that this is pure nonsense. I understand that Democrats want to perpetuate the lie that the border is secure, but I don't see why Libertarians and Republicans do it also.
Oh that's right--Republicans are incompetent on messaging--my bad.
"Then, ask them to prove it. They'll mumble a bunch of nonsense and lies that the press has debunked and then fade away."
I'm sure that's easy enough to do. Bring your soft ass and your gray poupon snorting DC'ers down here and you can live it first hand for a while.
Want the truth: ask Texans and Arizonans on the border, they are the ones in the know; not some hack in DC.
KNOW What?????
Anonymous can not answer doran's because they don't know the answer. So I will answer as a person with friends living and ranching on border, and a woman who has taken her 18 yr old daughter several times to stay on border. Yes, two females (blonde hair and blue eyed ones at that) strolling along small border towns all alone since my husband can not come with us.
Ranchers and farmer's (majority of them) never wanted border wall nor wants it expanded. The ones whose property is along the river, they loose access to the only water in many parts of TX border. El Paseo has been named one of the safest cities in US although Juarez, Mx has highest crime rate in Mexico.
Many Texans do NOT want a cold war Berlin type militarized border, esp as the scenery from their homes.
Not to say there are not some living in border towns who do want it beefed it more,but they are few and far between. IMO, if they are so afraid of where they live, then move.
Same as people such as Anonymous have know clue that it is the northern border that is bringing more drugs, sex slaves, children bought by pedophiles, and immigrants across then our southern border. Canada has openly admitted to tunnels and the fact that international organized crime members if even caught never see inside a jail.
Makes me believe someone wants our attention south to protect interest coming across north.
Oh Annie, Padre doesn't count. Ifn it's adventure (Jalipeno Fever) you and lil Ann are seeking, you two could save a lot of money by considering say Garland, TX. or any West / East / South Dallas zip codes. (Houston 'any' part will).
Can anyone (I mean anyone) really picture two blondes with blue eyes making it from 635 clear over to 190 and still have panties? Seriously, any age, any weight class, on foot, on bike , on skates, even piggyback. Same question goes for a border town? Other words, if it smells like Bullshit...
Only the dimmiest bulb would dare throw water on a burnning electrical outlett. Those doing it on purpose deserve what they get and can't be helped.
Btw, No dictionary required to participate in comment sections. Doh.
For the longest time, we've been constantly baraged by spell chekers in wqhich we put up with. Then comes thiz person that keeps us covered up in words' like: Smoke, Stuff, Criminals, Criminal Lovers, Liberals, etc... Keep it coming old fart, anything to keep you off the streets.
News Flash!
The Border has been misplaced!
Anyone that locates it is asked to observe and report its location. Last seen headed North and to the right, left.
FM, you didn't ask but when has that stopped someone from replying.
The R's and D's have morphed in to one great big blob in their fight to claim (buy) the Mexican vote. If Abbott dons a sombreo or paints his chair pink and purple, I'll puke.
Republacrats is what you get when you board donkeys with elephants and feed them out of the same bucket. It's messy and confusing. Embed a reporter in strategic towns and poof you don't get wind of All of the crimes reslulting in positive secure news coverage. Aka: Tourism - trumps this, this and that.
The Dallas Morning News & Good Morning Texas, have a short memory on that very topic (Secure & Safe Mexico).
One month we heard that heads were hanging from bridges and the next month or so the old white haired lady was promoting safe vacation deals in the same location the local police are caught being criminals and praying on tourists'. Goto tacos, get your goto on homs.
Of course the border is secure when you consider they are already over, under it and have about 20 minutes to go before they have to get back to work.
I can say this because I drive by the properties I used to work at and see the white van with four men doing what I used to do. I have the Bush Wacker to thank for his "Come on up" or "Stick around" speech where he said - they'll do what Americans won't. Btw, my $20.00 accounts took the $15.00 discount and soon learned that it was now $25.00. Ha Ha.
Assets. If you looked at the serial numbers on 25 lawn mowers, you'll find about 20 Americans stolen mowers. Found three of mine within a 5 mile radious. No boots assisted or showed any interest in doing so. Can you say, Pawn Shop.
I've marvel at all this hysteria over "our southern border" since 9/11 made it a cause. I grew up on that border. The problem with the southern border is far more about undocumented workers than terrorists. And nobody seems to get so revved up about the northern border. Wonder why? Just as "porous", just as "unsecure". But no sneaky Mexicans who work cheap. Hmmm
The fence will go down in history as a huge boondoggle, right up there with Star Wars funding all those years. Anybody can cross that fence, using only a rope ladder and hook. Five bucks beats our billion dollar fence. The fence was and has always been political theater, useful in the fear campaign that the GOP waged all those years under W.
The other point I make is this- Why do critics always get all enraged because those undocumented workers "broke the law", yet never mention the thousands of employers who lured these people here by hiring them, also breaking the law! Want to stop illegal crossings? Actually prosecute those who hire them. Duh! My own sister has a big ranch/farm in the Valley. She constantly whines about how illegals come here, use up our services at hospitals, etc, yet never mentions that she hires hundreds of them every year. They could not operate their business without them. "But we pay good wages", she indignantly retorts to my questions. That, in a nutshell, is our problem with our southern border.
http://dailynightly.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/02/17708115-despite-safer-border-cities-undocumented-immigrants-flow-through-rural-areas?lite
http://www.vdare.com/posts/arizona-rancher-border-is-not-secure
http://www.alipac.us/f12/south-texas-ranchers-tell-sen-cornyn-border-not-secure-277890/
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/09/29/Citizens-Take-To-The-Web-To-Prove-Border-Is-Not-Secure
What do you expect from a sociopath who hasn't been able to have sex since a tree fell on him..
Was it Cheney or Rumsfeld that said that oil revenues would pay for the Iraq war? I didn't believe that one either.
http://www.krgv.com/news/illegal-immigrants-captured-then-released-in-usapao
smoke it doran/anecdotal
Are these posts (Grits) truthful? Or, will he write anything to promote a left-wing (in this case, open borders) agenda?
The border is by far secure- in 2011 the U.S Accountability Office stated Border Patrol still lacks "operational control" over 55% of the border- the FBI has confirmed Islamic terrorist are taking Spanish surnames and crossing over also-
And you actually believe anything the FBI says? Golly, talk about gullible and naive...
The Democrats depend on the votes of those who they deny ever crossed the border or are even in the country. "The border is secure" lie keeps the Democrats in office.
Gregg Abbott would pander to a tree stump if he thought he could get the tree stump's vote.
Great post, but if Texas is having problems with border security shouldn't they raise the issue with the Border Patrol rather than making their own border patrol?
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