Government

Cornyn honored by Texas Border And Southwestern Border Sheriff’s Coalitions

Senator recognized with “Champion of Border Security” award for strong support of border law enforcement community; addresses annual conference

From the Office of Senator John Cornyn

October 10, 2007

WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, Ranking Member of the Immigration and Border Security subcommittee, on Sept. 27 received the “Champion of Border Security” award from the Texas Border and Southwestern Border Sheriff’s Coalitions for his strong support of the border law enforcement community. Sen. Cornyn accepted the recognition as he addressed the annual meeting of the sheriff’s coalitions in San Antonio via teleconference. Some 30 sheriffs were on hand from along the border.

“It’s an honor to be recognized with the ‘Champion of Border Security’ award,” Sen. Cornyn said. “I’ll continue working closely with the border law enforcement community to address their needs and concerns. The men and women working on the front lines every day—sheriffs and other first responders—have the clearest picture of the safety and security challenges we face. They deserve our support.”

Sen. Cornyn added: “I secured an amendment earlier this year to double funding for the Border Relief Program from $50 million to $100 million. This program will help border sheriffs do the important work of keeping their local communities safe and contributing to border and national security. The Senate should approve this critical funding soon, so we can make this timely investment in border security—a top concern of so many Texans and Americans across the country. We have a responsibility to ensure border communities don’t have to foot the bill when their local law enforcement officials support our security needs.”

In addition, Sen. Cornyn has consistently advocated for greater funding for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP), which reimburses states and counties for the unfunded mandate of detaining illegal immigrants arrested in connection with crimes other than immigration violations.

“Previous funding commitments have been inadequate for critical security programs, such as the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, which does the important work of apprehending illegal immigrants with criminal records,” Sen. Cornyn added. “I will continue to work to see that this and other priorities are addressed on the federal level, including costs associated with operational control of the border.”

Recently, Sen. Cornyn worked with his colleagues to ensure that an additional $3 billion would be devoted to achieving operational control of the border and interior enforcement.

On a related note, earlier this week Sen. Cornyn addressed members of the Border Trade Alliance (BTA) via video teleconference during their annual international conference in Austin . Sen. Cornyn provided attendees with a legislative update on immigration-related activity in Washington .

Sen. Cornyn also discussed the challenges posed by the overgrowth of the invasive plant, Carrizo cane, along the border, as an obstacle for our border agents and local law enforcement. With tall and dense reeds, Carrizo cane provides cover and shelter to illegal border crossers, and even cars and trucks that smuggle drugs into our country. Sen. Cornyn passed an amendment, which was included in the final homeland security bill, to maximize efforts to control the invasive Carrizo cane plant on the border and support the efforts of the Border Patrol.

Sen. Cornyn serves on the Armed Services, Judiciary and Budget Committees. In addition, he is Vice Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference and the Senate Select Committee on Ethics. He serves as the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee’s Immigration, Border Security and Refugees subcommittee and the Armed Services Committee’s Airland subcommittee. He served previously as Texas Attorney General, Texas Supreme Court Justice, and Bexar County District Judge.