Contrary To TX Gov Perry's Claims New FBI Data Shows Significant Drop In Crime Along Border

Earlier this week, Texas Governor Rick Perry went on a tour of the border with Greta Van Susteran for her show on Fox News, over the course of the piece Perry made several questionable statments. Chief among those is that  'drug cartels have operational control of a substantial amount' of the border.

Shortly after Congressman Silvestre Reyes released a statement noting that contrary to Governor Perry's statements new FBI data shows violence along the Border is actually down significantly. According to the Congressman's release:

Austin, Texas, where Governor Perry resides in his $10,000-a-month rental mansion at taxpayer expense, reported a 72 percent increase in homicides in 2010.  The city of Austin had more homicides last year than El Paso, Laredo, McAllen, and Brownsville combined.

Congressman Reye's release utilizes FBI Crime Statistics to note that much of the Republican leadership in the House represent districts that have higher rates of murder then cities along the border: