Border Security

The greatest threat facing Texas is our 1,200 mile porous southern
border. Our border is vulnerable to international terrorists, violent
drug cartels, and human trafficking operations that put all Texans at
risk. Though border security is clearly a federal responsibility, Texas
has an obligation to protect its citizens. And, Governor Perry
recognizes real border security means more boots on the ground, more
helicopters in the sky and more resources in the hands of law
enforcement.

Some of the greatest challenges faced by local and state law
enforcement on the border include the lack of personnel to patrol areas
between ports of entry and the lack of equipment and modernized tools
to conduct surge operations and achieve the overall goal of the
prevention and reduction of crime. In order to meet these challenges
Governor Perry has launched critical comprehensive border operations:

• In February 2006, Governor Perry launched Operation Rio
  Grande, a coordination of efforts between local, state and federal law
  enforcement to conduct surge operations along the border. The results
  of Operation Rio Grande saw crime along the border decrease on an
  average of 60 percent.
• In January 2007, Governor Perry
  launched Operation Wrangler, which took the lessons learned from
  Operation Rio Grande and expanded the surge operations across the state.

These surge operations encompass many new strategies and technology never before used in border security:

• Texas is the first state to have a centralized command and
  control center—Border Security Operations Centers—where local, state
  and federal law enforcement agencies share resources and coordinate
  efforts to secure our border.
• Local, state and federal law
  enforcement agencies are using the Texas Data Exchange (TDEx)—a web
  based secure information sharing network used to track criminals and
  illegal activity and Live Scan, a fully integrated electronic
  fingerprint identification system that provides immediate information
  about a person’s criminal history.
• Texas National Guard are
  integrated into special task forces that are patrolling between points
  of entry using fixed and rotary aviation.

This legislative session Governor Perry is proposing $100 million to
continue funding border security efforts in Texas. These funds will
help to ensure that our local and state law enforcement on the
frontline have the manpower, training, equipment and resources
necessary to address those criminal organizations that constitute the
greatest threat to all Texans.

The proposed Border Security Funding includes:

• 300 new local commissioned officers and 100 vehicles
• 75 new state commissioned officers and 38 vehicles
• 4 DPS helicopters to be positioned along the border
• Overtime pay during surge operations for state and local law enforcement
• Centralized communication, intelligence and command funding
• Modernizing technology to compete on a post 9/11 environment