Texas Agriculture Commissioner Testifies on Transnational Criminal Organizations

Statement from Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples
Field Hearing on Border
Before the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security
of the House Committee on Judiciary
Sept. 19, 2011

Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Members of the committee, for the opportunity to testify before you today. I am Todd Staples, Texas Commissioner of Agriculture.

I always enjoy visiting the Rio Grande Valley, but wish it were under better circumstances than to share the very real and grim atrocities perpetrated on Texas agricultural producers and rural landowners who are increasingly seeing violent Mexican drug cartels illegally crossing their properties; threatening the lives of their families; assaulting their employees; jeopardizing our nation’s food supply; and ultimately infringing on the rights of Americans to live, work and enjoy their property.

American agriculture produces the safest, most affordable and most reliable food supply in the world – and Texas, especially the Rio Grande Valley, is a major contributor to those production efforts. Despite an ongoing drought and raging wildfires, the Texas agriculture industry has shown significant strengths in a trying time for the U.S. economy. We continue to lead the nation in the production of cattle, cotton, sheep, goats, mohair and many other products that American consumers rely on daily. Agriculture is also a significant sector of the Texas economy, producing an economic impact of about $100 billion a year. In fact, one in seven jobs, representing slightly over 9 percent of the Texas economy, is attributable to agriculture.

At this very moment this critical industry is under increasing attack. Texas farmers and ranchers along the U.S./Mexico border are becoming victims of intimidation, aggression and outright violence by armed trespassers that often have ties to Mexico’s drug cartels. With alarming frequency, Texans along the border are subjected to illegal trespassing, property damage, theft and the illegal trafficking of people and drugs on their property.

Meanwhile, President Obama and others in his administration – particularly Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano – have repeatedly said the U.S./Mexico border is “as secure now as it has ever been.” They cite federal crime statistics for urban areas that have received considerable federal support to add law enforcement and enhance security. The result has been lower crime rates in urban border communities like Brownsville and El Paso. But we must not forget the rural areas of our border, which cover nearly 1,000 miles, or approximately 80 percent, of the Texas/Mexico border.

Rural residents and agricultural producers with property located on the border have shared stories with me about gun-toting criminals who illegally entered the United States and ordered them to abandon their farms and ranches while they move drugs or humans through these private properties. We’ve even heard of farmers selling out and closing their operations. We are talking about our domestic food supply. We cannot stand by and watch terrorists frighten farmers out of agriculture. We do not like being dependent on foreign oil; we MUST NOT become dependent on foreign food.

The reality is our porous border is a problem for all Texans – not just those at the border. Even an hour north of the Rio Grande River, Texans are living with the threats and destruction of drug and human traffickers who are dodging fixed checkpoints, cutting private fences, trespassing and trashing private properties. Rural residents have told us of the countless dead bodies they find on their properties – the bodies of the sick and frail who fell behind and were left to die by the traffickers. How can the border be called secure when fierce assaults continue against American citizens on Texas soil; nightly incursions occur across Texas ranches; and dead bodies are scattered throughout private properties?

The bottom line is our border is not secure. What we have are transnational criminal organizations basing their operations in a foreign country and deploying military-type incursions on American soil. And our President indicates this is okay by saying we are more secure today? Members of Congress, please do not rest until we convince the President, an insecure border is an insecure America.

Each time the federal government denies there is a problem, only the cartels and traffickers benefit – they gain courage and territory. The federal government must act now and do more to protect America. Our lives and our livelihoods depend on a secure border where legal trade and commerce can grow. The entire Rio Grande Valley is critical to the strength and future of Texas, and we need to see these communities prosper and economies grow without the threat of violence associated with illegal drug and human trafficking.

The federal government needs a smarter, dynamic response to avoid funneling this traffic into our rural areas. Texans want action. The Texas Legislature, state and local law enforcement have invested considerable resources to support the mission of the U.S. Border Patrol and meet the public safety concerns of their constituents. These law enforcement officers are doing the best job they can, but ineffective federal policies have only allowed the problems to fester. Our local and state officials need the strategic support of our federal government to take the fight to the cartels and aid our neighbors to the south. The broader strategy our government is employing does not appear coordinated, effective or have the full attention of this administration to follow through in solving this problem.

To get that attention, I launched a website to document the real stories of Texans suffering from our insecure border. ProtectYourTexasBorder.com posts videos from those who have bravely come forward – in many cases anonymously for fear of retaliation – to share their encounters with these dangerous individuals. These are true accounts that document what is really happening on our side of the border. The evidence is clear; the border is NOT secure.

It is imperative the administration help us secure the border. On Monday, September 26th, I will roll out a detailed strategic assessment of the United States’ southern border between Texas and Mexico that chronicles the impacts of violent drug cartels and transnational criminal organizations. The assessment, authored by retired General Barry McCaffrey, the former Director of the Office of National Drug Control Program under President Bill Clinton, and retired Major-General Robert Scales, the former Commandant of the United States Army War College, details the problem in undeniable, stark terms; gives a strategic analysis of the danger and threat to our nation; and advocates for expanded resources and attention to secure the border.

But securing the border only solves one part of the problem; you also must address other weaknesses that have led to the abuse of our border and laws. Any expanded effort to secure the border must also substantially focus on immigration reform to keep Border Patrol and law enforcement resources fully engaged in stopping the violent drug and human traffickers. All Americans, regardless of their background or culture, deserve a legal immigration system that meets our workforce needs and diminishes the demand for the coyote smugglers and traffickers who are exploiting and endangering lives.

I hope this committee and Congressional members will continue to strive for reform that:

• Secures our borders;
• Enforces existing laws;
• Requires immediate documentation of all undocumented immigrants;
• Requires country of origin application for U.S. citizenship; and
• Reforms a failed visa system for guest labor.

I’m prepared to work on these issues and I think they tie into a larger effort to provide certainty to businesses and their employees in these uncertain economic times.

Allowing a porous border is not only a threat to our citizens and nation’s food supply, but also a threat to our homeland security, which stands in direct contrast to the protections authored by our founding fathers in the United States Constitution.

This debate can be summed up with one question: Would America allow terrorists based in Canada to make nightly incursions into New York? The answer is a resounding “No!” We need help and we need it now with the immediate deployment of additional boots on the ground.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify. I look forward to any questions you may have.