Laredo 2010 Census Event Promotes Awareness, Participation for Census
Courtesy Eddie Zavala,
Washington, DC – Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28) alongside local officials, representatives from the Census, community advocates and local media, today advocated for the 2010 Census and encouraged all Laredo residents to make themselves count by completing and mailing their Census forms by April 1, 2010.
“This is a community-wide campaign to make Laredo count,” said Congressman Cuellar. “It’s time to check your mailbox, fill out the form and mail it back. With only 10 questions, it takes just 10 minutes …

 
Courtesy Richard Pauza,
 Eagle Pass, TEXAS – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Eagle Pass Port of Entry seized a significant cache of assault weapons and tactical equipment during a routine outbound inspection.
 On March 3, 2010, CBP officers working outbound inspection operations alongside Border Patrol agents and Maverick County sheriff’s deputies at Bridge I referred a 1999 BMW 540i for an outbound inspection. During the inspection, CBP officers noted anomalies in a speaker box. Further inspection of the speaker box and spare tire well yielded a cache of weapons and …

 
Pro-Trade Leader Responds to White House Trade Plan, Pushes Progress on Three Free Trade Agreements
Courtesy Ashley Patterson,
Washington, DC – Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28), founding member of the Congressional Pro-Trade Caucus and U.S. Representative to the nation’s sixth largest trade port in Laredo, Texas, released the following statement in response to President Obama’s trade policy agenda released today:
 “Trade has been a great stabilizer in our nation’s economic recovery and increased exports can help spur job creation and stabilize unemployment. That’s why it’s time to resolve our outstanding trade agreements to …

 
Fiscally-Conservative Dems Call for Balanced Budget by 2020 to Reduce National Deficit
Courtesy Ashley Patterson,
Washington, DC – Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28) today joined his colleagues in the fiscally-conservative Blue Dog Coalition to introduce legislation that would require the federal government to pay down the national debt and balance the nation’s budget by 2020. The Blue Dog “Balanced Budget Amendment” is a key component of the Blue Dog Blueprint for Fiscal Reform, a comprehensive plan to immediately begin reducing the deficit by adhering to sound fiscal policies now and in the future. …

Courtesy Ashley Patterson,
Border Chairman Presses CBP to Deploy UAV Along Texas-Mexico Border
Washington, DC – Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28), Chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border, Maritime and Global Counterterrorism, has requested Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to move swiftly without delay in placing an unmanned aerial vehicle along the Texas-Mexico Border to help gather critical intelligence information to combat drug trafficking, weapons smuggling and potential terrorism threats.
 The UAV would be the first of its kind in Texas and would monitor the southern border along the Rio Grande . …

  FLORIDA RESIDENT  SENTENCED TO LENGTHY PRISON TERM FOR SMUGGLING METHAMPHETAMINE

Courtesy Adelina Pruneda,
(LAREDO, Texas) – A Mexican citizen and legal permanent resident has been sentenced to 210 months in federal prison for smuggling almost two kilograms of methamphetamine into the United States, United States Attorney José Angel Moreno announced today.
At a hearing yesterday, United States District Judge Micaela Alvarez sentenced Virgilio Alvilez-Cruz, aka Virgilio Avilez-Cruz, 34, of Wauchula, Fla., to 210 months in prison without parole to be followed by a five-year-term of supervised release.  Alvilez-Cruz, a Mexican citizen and …

Courtesy Richard Pauza,
 LAREDO, TEXAS – As Laredo rolls into high gear for its annual Washington’s Birthday celebration activities, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Laredo Port of Entry this week did their part to ring in the holiday by seizing $2.5 million in marijuana and cocaine in four separate enforcement actions.
The latest seizure occurred Feb. 18 at Colombia-Solidarity Bridge . CBP officers referred a 1996 Freightliner hauling a commercial shipment of Mexican handicrafts for secondary inspection. During the inspection, CBP officers using canines and a non-intrusive imaging …

One Year Anniversary of ARRA Shows Widespread Investments in Local Infrastructure, Transportation, Education and Other Priorities
Courtesy Ashley Patterson,
Washington, DC – Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28) today announced that one year after being signed into law, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has delivered over $19 billion in committed federal funding to Texas and provided over $4.2 billion in tax cuts to hard-working Texans, delivering a stabilizing boost to communities throughout the state during the economic recovery of the past 12 months. 
In the 28th Congressional District, over $634 million in Recovery …

Courtesy Richard Pauza,
LAREDO , Texas – In the weeks leading to Valentine’s Day, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s highly trained agriculture specialists ensure that plant diseases and plant pests are detected and prevented from being introduced into the United States where they could cause harm.
 At international ports of entry, land borders and mail facilities, CBP agriculture specialists are the front line in the fight against the introduction of harmful insects and diseases into the United States .  In fiscal year 2009, CBP agriculture specialists seized more than 1.5 million prohibited …

Courtesy Ashley Patterson,
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28) together with USDA Rural Development State Director Paco Valentin and Jim Hogg County Officials will announce Monday over $5.2 million in federal funding for the construction of a 48-bed detention center in Hebbronville, Texas. Jim Hogg County will receive $3,949,000 in federal grant funding and $1,317,000 in loan assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Assistance Funds Program.
Congressman Cuellar and USDA Rural Development State Director Paco Valentin will discuss how the federal funding will be used to construct the …