[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 16]
[House]
[Page 22354]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              BORDER CRIME

  (Mr. POE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, in the Mexican border town of Nuevo Laredo, 
across the border from Laredo, Texas, crime has skyrocketed as 
disciplined drug cartels have turned up their battle for total 
territory control over this chief entry point into the U.S. Our open 
border policy encourages drug dealers to lead organized efforts to 
infiltrate the United States in their fighting over this territory.
  So far this year more than 135 people have died, seven police 
officers have been killed and 44 American citizens have been kidnapped 
in this treacherous town. Mr. Speaker, I have a recent newspaper 
article from Nuevo Laredo that shows a police officer, a policewoman, 
that was set on fire in the streets of Nuevo Laredo trying to enforce 
the law. The reason that there is chaos, Mr. Speaker, is because these 
drug cartels are trying to come into the United States. They are 
fighting over territory. Because the United States basically has no 
policy in protecting our borders, there is chaos on the border.
  Mr. Speaker, the border is a perilous place. How many more people 
have to die? How many more Americans have to be kidnapped in this 
border town before we protect our borders?

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