[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 6032]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 THE LAWLESSNESS SOUTH OF THE BORDER CONTINUES . . . TOO DANGEROUS FOR 
                                MARINES?

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 26, 2009

  Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, Americans are still under vicious 
attack in Mexico. How violent is it on the border? Last month, Marines 
at Camp Pendleton were barred from visiting Tijuana, Mexico. Lt. 
General Samuel Helland of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp 
Pendleton restricted Marines from traveling to Tijuana because they are 
concerned for the safety of Marines. Our United States Marines, Camp 
Pendleton Marines, who have toured in Iraq and Afghanistan can't travel 
60 miles to the Mexican border because it is too dangerous.
  In 2008, over 800 people were killed in Tijuana, compared to the 2007 
death toll number of 337. Organized, violent crimes continue to spread 
south of the border. Currently, the U.S. Department of State's travel 
alert still exists for Mexican border towns. The State Department 
reports that ``Mexican drug cartels are engaged in an increasingly 
violent fight for control of narcotics trafficking routes along the 
U.S.-Mexico border . . . recent drug cartels have taken on the 
characteristics of small unit combat, with cartels employing automatic 
weapons and, on occasion, grenades.'' I have been down to the Texas-
Mexico border now 14 times, and I have talked to local sheriffs who 
testify to the wild, Wild West border style wars that take place in 
these towns and corroborate with the U.S. Department of State's 
warnings to Americans.
  These are dangerous, deadly times on the U.S.-Mexico border, 
dangerous enough to ban United States Marines. It is time we deal with 
the lawlessness on the U.S.-Mexico Border.

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