Sen. McCain visits, discusses border region during campaign stop

U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, who is also a candidate for President in 2008, covered a wide array of issues crucial to Texas and the border region, including the opposition to a proposed border wall between the U.S. and Mexico, during a key session in Laredo on Monday, April 16, with the Texas Border Coalition. The Texas Border Coalition is an alliance of elected leaders and economic development officials from the 14 Texas counties that border Mexico. "It was a rare and special occasion to have the opportunity to have a sit-down, face-to-face meeting with a presidential candidate,' said Eagle Pass Mayor Chad Foster, chairman of the Texas Border Coalition. "We had a lot of issues to discuss, but the focus was on immigration reform and especially border security, which is the top priority, not only for Texas, but for the nation." As part of his visit with TBC, McCain shared his belief that the nation's immigration policies must be humanitarian. “We talked about the illegal acts of people who come here illegally, but the exploitation and the mistreatment of people who come to our country who have no protection under our law — terrible things happen and terrible things are done by coyotes that are unspeakable,” McCain told the Laredo Morning Times and other border news media. TBC is championing major improvements for border security, and increased commerce and travel through the legal ports of entry along the Texas-Mexico border, but the group stands united against plans that call for paying billions of dollars for fencing – more commonly referred to as a wall – to be constructed along the U.S.-Mexico border. "The Texas Border Coalition has a resolution that we are against the wall," said McAllen Mayor Richard Cortéz. "Sen. McCain said he was also against the wall. He recognizes there have to be some kind of barriers to protect the border, but he favored more technology, more sensors. He felt the wall was a waste of money." Increased funding for the U.S. Border Patrol, lighting, vehicle barriers, sophisticated high technology sensors, and access roads are among some of the options to a wall that have been proposed to increase border security. "We were very happy with most of the issues he shared with the border mayors and county judges. We will continue to have a friend in Sen. McCain for us to advance the needs for the southern border, for our national government to favor us more financially to improve our ports of entry. There has been a lot of investment in the infrastructure and personnel in our ports of entry," Cortéz reported. "Overall, I believe we all left the meeting feeling pretty good that we had a senator who was going to support, substantially, the positions of the Texas Border Coalition," Brownsville Mayor Eddie Treviño Jr., who also participated in the TBC session with McCain, shared his thoughts about the meeting, particularly what he called the "wall to nowhere." “As border leaders, I believe Sen. McCain heard our united focus and concerns about immigration reform and the proposed 'wall to nowhere’. We alerted him to the fact that the Secure Fence Act, which calls for the building of the wall, included a provision directing the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security to investigate, study and then make recommendations on how to better secure our border with Canada. We all felt that this same method of fact-finding should have also been utilized as to our border with Mexico before, not after the passage of this legislation. Border security must take into account our border economies, and not take them for granted." Among the positions McCain has publicly taken on the issue of immigration are the following proposals:

• Vastly improve border surveillance and enforcement capabilities;
• Increase the manpower, infrastructure and capabilities necessary to block, apprehend, detain and return those who try to enter the country illegally;
• Strengthen the laws and penalties against those who hire illegal aliens and violate immigration law;
• Achieve and maintain the integrity of official documents to stop fraud, verify immigration status and employment, and enforce immigration law; and
• Encourage immigrants to come out of the shadows so we know who is in this country and develop a sensible guest worker program that will serve the nation's best economic and security interests.

  Laredo Mayor Raúl G. Salinas noted the significance of the Arizona senator's meeting with the organization. "We welcome people from all parties and want someone with an open mind to do what’s right for mankind, especially as we go through immigration reform,” Salinas told the Laredo Morning News. Foster, Cortéz, Treviño, and Salinas were joined at the Laredo session with McCain by other key members of the coalition, including Del Rio Mayor Efraín Valdéz; Hidalgo County Judge J.D. Salinas; Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos; and Webb County Judge Efraín Valdéz. Mike Allen, TBC vice-chairman representing the McAllen Economic Development Corporation, said the gathering was the latest in a series of efforts "to continue bringing the border region together on key issues that affect all of us." The other members of TBC are: Pat Townsend, Jr., TBC treasurer representing the Mission Economic Development Agency; Brownsville Mayor Eddie Treviño, Jr.; Edinburg Mayor Joe Ochoa; El Paso Mayor John F. Cook; Hidalgo Mayor John David Franz; Maverick County Judge José Pepe Aranda; Mission Mayor Norberto Salinas; Pharr Mayor Leopoldo Palacios, Jr; Roma Mayor Fernando Peña; and Weslaco Mayor Joe V. Sánchez. The Texas Border Coalition maintains a web site at www.texasbordercoalition.org. Legislative Media reports on major legislation that impacts the Texas border region.