FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Tom Hargis, Director of Communications, ACLU of Texas, 832.291.4776; [email protected]

Today Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst announced interim charges to enhance security along the Texas-Mexico border, including earmarking $60 million a year for a “permanent surge.” The federal government already spends $18 billion a year on border security, more than on the FBI, ATF, U.S. Marshals, DEA, and secret service combined.

Also today, Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, announced that future border enforcement would not include regulatory checkpoints that were used during Operation Strong Safety.

Statement from Terri Burke, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas:

“David Dewhurst’s proposal to shift law enforcement resources to fund ‘continual surges’ in border communities is a political stunt and will accomplish nothing for the people of Texas. Border communities are already very safe, with lower crime rates than other parts of the state. In fact, U.S. Customs and Border Protection is now the largest law-enforcement agency in the world. Another sixty million dollars will do nothing but deliver Dewhurst a headline and add to the out-of-control border militarization that has done more harm than good to people living along the border.”

Statement from Astrid Dominguez, advocacy coordinator for the ACLU of Texas, Brownsville office:

“Those of us who live and work in border communities are tired of politicians who use ‘border security’ to score political points without ever listening to how these misguided programs affect our lives. At least the Texas Department of Public Safety learned from the public outcry over its recent unconstitutional checkpoints in border communities and chose put a stop to them. Lieutenant Governor Dewhurst should take note and abandon his call for continual surges.”