Mayor Salinas Responds to Congressional Passage of Jaime Zapata Border Enforcement Legislation
Written by admin, Dec 1, 2012, 0 Comments
Courtesy Xochitl Mora,
On Wednesday, the U.S. Congress voted on final passage of the “Jaime Zapata Border Enforcement Security Task Force Act.” The bi-partisan legislation was authored by Laredo congressman U. S. Representative Henry Cuellar and incoming Homeland Security Chair Michael McCaul (R-Tx). The legislation amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) a Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST), to establish units to enhance border security by addressing and reducing border security threats and violence.
Laredo Mayor Raul G. Salinas commented: “We are so proud that Congressman Cuellar and Rep. McCaul worked in a bi-partisan manner to pass this very important legislation. As Congressman Cuellar has stated, it will enhance border security by allowing DHS to establish units to address border threats and violence. It also means so much to Laredo that the legislation bears the name of Officer Zapata. What a wonderful testimony that his name will be embedded into the law of the land dealing with border security and homeland safety.”
The mayor continued: “We are also very happy that Rep. McCaul was chosen to serve as the chair of the House Homeland Security Committee. Rep. McCaul has been a good friend to Laredo and he and Congressman Cuellar have demonstrated that border security need not be a partisan issue and we look forward to their continued leadership on issues of such importance to Laredo.”
