[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 4975]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     THE POSITIVE ASPECTS OF THE U.S.-MEXICO AND U.S.-CANADA BORDER

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                          HON. RUBEN HINOJOSA

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 21, 2016

  Mr. HINOJOSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about a topic very 
near and dear to my heart: My home of Deep South Texas.
  I was born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley, a region situated 
along the U.S.-Mexico border in the southernmost tip of Texas, which 
encompasses Willacy, Cameron, Hidalgo and Starr Counties. Rich in 
history and culture and built on enduring family bonds. The Rio Grande 
Valley is home to more than 1.3 million residents.
  For nearly twenty years, I have had the honor and privilege of 
representing the fifteenth congressional district of Texas, a dynamic 
and unique district that stretches from Guadalupe County, southeast 
from San Antonio all the way down to Deep South Texas along the border 
with Mexico.
  I feel extremely fortunate to call a border community my home. As the 
proud son of Ed-Couch, Texas, I am surprised by news reports that 
depict the border as violent and ``in crisis.'' Unlike the fear mongers 
who wish to scapegoat all our problems on immigrants, when I talk about 
the border, I know what I am talking about.
  First, our border communities are some of the safest in our nation, 
providing great quality of life with the low crime rates. In fact, 
state and federal crime data show that border cities are safer than 
many larger U.S. cities, with violent crime rates remaining the same or 
dropping in the last five years.
  Moreover, the idea that undocumented immigrants are more likely to 
commit crimes is simply false. A Texas Tribune analysis of 
incarceration and immigration records found there is little evidence 
that undocumented immigrants commit crime at higher rates than the 
general population and they appear to be underrepresented in Texas 
prisons. As a matter of fact, the U.S.-Mexico border has never been 
more secure in the history of the United States. In the past ten years, 
border security funding has tripled and we have doubled the size of the 
Border Patrol from about 10,000 agents to approximately 20,000 today.
  Second, our border is not being overrun. We are seeing record low 
apprehensions at our southern border. Today, a majority of those 
apprehensions are immigrants from Central America who fear violence in 
their home countries and their only hope is to seek refuge in the 
United States. Our great nation is made up of immigrants, many of whom 
landed on our shores tired, poor and in huddled-masses, yearning to be 
free. We should not close our borders and turn back on them now. That 
is not who we are.
  This brings to mind a quote from the first Mexican-American federal 
district Judge Reynaldo Garza who was appointed by President Kennedy in 
1961 and sat on the bench in Brownsville, Texas in the Rio Grande 
Valley. When swearing in new citizens, Judge Garza used to say:
  ``I do not worry that people want to come to the United States, I 
would worry if people did not want to come because then it would mean 
we would no longer be the country of freedom and opportunity that we 
are.''
  As a son of immigrants and as former chair of the Congressional 
Hispanic Caucus, I am proud to represent my district along the U.S.-
Mexico border with a large population of immigrants, who contribute to 
the vibrancy of our national economy, job growth and rich culture.
  Indeed, the stories of our immigrant neighbors, friends, and 
colleagues are very real, enriching the overall narrative of what it 
means to be an American. They are Americans and part of our national 
fabric.
  I invite all my fellow Americans to come down to the U.S.-Mexico 
border region to experience firsthand the rich culture and wonderful 
people who make up our border communities and my home of Deep South 
Texas.

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