McAllen Monitor - Cornyn, Cuellar Talk Border Issues in Mission

News Article

By Jacob Fischler

Surrounded by bales of cotton, a bipartisan pair from Texas's congressional delegation echoed themes of cooperation and commerce as they spoke Thursday about cross-border commerce to dozens of state and municipal officials at a 270,000-square-foot warehouse near the Anzalduas International Bridge.

Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, talked border issues with area mayors and other local dignitaries at a roundtable discussion at the headquarters of CiL Group, a Mission-based import/export company.

Though the group highlighted several specific issues -- ranging from the idea of a border fence to the way outsiders perceive the region -- the overall theme was on a building a multi-faceted "smart border" that could mitigate several problems.

"If you can isolate the bad actors by facilitating the flow of legitimate commerce and people who want to come here and spend money, then that actually helps the law enforcement agencies focus their efforts on the people they need to focus on," Cornyn said.

"This is what the border is all about," Cuellar said as he gestured to a row of several cotton bales stacked atop each other, bemoaning the image of the border region as a dangerous, lawless place. Instead, people should look at the $1.2 billion in commerce that the U.S.-Mexico border facilitates daily, he said.

Different speakers highlighted several steps to creating a "smart border" that went beyond a simple increase in U.S. Border Patrol deployment that was passed by the Senate earlier this summer -- though none spoke against having more Border Patrol agents in the area.

Other proposals include increasing the use of technology in securing the border, hiring customs officers to expedite border crossings and providing additional federal funds to local law enforcement.

Throughout the event, the two complimented each other often, with Cornyn calling the Blue Dog Democrat -- a name given to Democratic members who identify as conservative or moderate -- "my friend, Henry Cuellar" several times.

"Senator Cornyn gets it, he gets it," Cuellar said emphatically about his Senate colleague's understanding of the border region.

The seemingly rare bipartisan agreement did not surprise Jesse Hereford, a spokesman for the Border Trade Alliance.

"Trade is not a Republican or a Democratic issue," he said. "But rather it is an economic issue."

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