Saturday, August 13, 2005

New Mexico Gov. declares border emergency

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson has been forced to declare a state-of emergency in 4 border counties due to illegals from Mexico. The Mexican government has responded with its usual lack of concern for US sovereignty. CNN reports on this also.

The ABQ Journal has some reactions by the local folks. You know, the ones getting burglerized and having their property destroyed.

Richardson's action frees up $750,000 in emergency funds and he has pledged $1 million more. Richardson said that the situation,
"constitutes an emergency condition with potentially catastrophic consequences.

Recent developments have convinced me this action is necessary - including violence directed at law enforcement, damage to property and livestock, increased evidence of drug smuggling and an increase in the number of undocumented immigrants."
He also ordered the New Mexico Department of Agriculture to work with the state Livestock Board to assess the safety of livestock in the region because over 100 Mexican cattle have been found on the US side. These cattle are thought to have imported bovine tuberculosis.

The funds include nearly $50,000 for an 11-foot, razor wire-topped security fence around the stockyards. It will replace a shorter, barbed-wire fence that Richardson said "is so full of holes and gaps that trucks and people can cross with no control."

And Mexico's response?
"The Mexican government considers that some of the New Mexico government's statements are generalizations which don't jibe with the spirit of cooperation and understanding needed to address border problems," Mexico's Foreign Relations Department said in a press statement.

The Mexican Foreign Ministry sent Richardson a letter Friday saying it has requested that Mexican consuls in Albuquerque and El Paso, Texas, meet "as soon as possible" with New Mexico officials "to promote pertinent action by the authorities of both countries in the framework of existing institutional mechanisms."
Huh?

TAGS: , , , , ,

No comments: