U.S. Mexico Border Mayors Release Letter On Positive Steps Forward On Making Border Safer

The United States Mexico Border Mayor Association have released a letter to Mike Hukabee regarding his remarks that the Obama Administration has failed to do enough on securing the southern border.

The letter is in response to an Op-Ed placed in the New York Post, Huckabee's editorial can be read here, with some key excerpts from the Op-Ed are below:

"Indeed, DHS efforts to secure our southern flank have failed miserably: In October, the department admitted that more than 1,000 miles of the 2,000-mile US-Mexico border were not under "effective federal control." Just after Thanksgiving, a 2,200-foot cross-border tunnel was discovered in San Diego, complete with lighting and ventilation -- and even a rail system."

The Border mayor letter puts things in perspective, and can be read in full HERE:

"As mayors of some of the largest cities along our border with México, we can tell you first hand that the Southwest Border Initiative is certainly working."

"The results of the Southwest Border Initiative speak for themselves:"

• Border cities are some of the safest in the nation. Border Patrol apprehensions,
• A key indicator of illegal immigration, have decreased 36 percent in the past two years.
• At the same time, we have seen increased seizures of southbound illegal bulk cash and weapons as well as northbound drugs. 
• Since beginning the Southwest Border Initiative in 2009, Immigration and Customs Enforcement removed almost 800,000 illegal immigrants from our country and almost 200,000 of them were convicted criminals.

Once again, we have an instance of an extreme view of the border being rebuffed by those who actually live on the border.

Lets hope that the next time Mike Huckabee decides to write an op-ed on how the border is out of control he checks his facts, and with the people who actually live in these areas.

Huckabees Editorial was in reaction to a speech by Secretary Napolitano, Simon's take on her speech can be seen here.

And the immigration blog's breakdown of her speach on border security can be seen here