U.S. REP. GABRIELLE GIFFORDS WELCOMES WHITE HOUSE EFFORT TO CONFRONT MOUNTING BORDER VIOLENCE

Southern Arizona lawmaker calls new investment of resources and manpower necessary to ensure safety of border communities 

WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords today welcomed the Obama Administration's announcement that it will confront the growing security threat from Mexican drug cartels by sending more agents and equipment to Arizona and other border states.

"The spillover effects of drug cartel-related violence are very real and very dangerous," said Giffords. 'Kidnappings, home invasions and high speed chases through neighborhoods are impacting communities throughout Arizona and across the Southwest. The federal government must confront this situation swiftly, comprehensively and with every available resource."

Today's announcement by the White House calls for:

• Doubling Border Enforcement Security Task Forces teams that incorporate foreign, federal and state/local law enforcement and intelligence officers
• Tripling Department of Homeland Security intelligence analysts working along the Southwest Border
• Increasing Immigration and Customs Enforcement staff in Mexico in support of Mexican law enforcement efforts
• Doubling violent criminal teams located in Southwest Border Field Offices
• Quadrupling the number of border liaison officers working with Mexican law enforcement entities
• Bolstering biometric identification capabilities
• Increasing southbound rail examinations
• Enhancing the use of technology at ports of entry, including mobile x-ray
• Increasing the number of canine units operating on the border
• Increasing engagement with state and local border law enforcement
• Making up to $59 million in current funding available to enhance state, local and tribal law enforcement operations and assets along the border
• Increasing the use of mobile license plate readers for southbound traffic on the border

"These measures represent a critical step in bringing a halt to border violence,"said Giffords, whose 8th Congressional District is one of only 10 districts on the border with Mexico. "But make no mistake, the border and the challenges it poses are complex. We need a comprehensive, multilayered approach that strengthens border security and fixes our broken immigration system."

Giffords made this point to President Obama last week in a letter that also was signed by her colleague from Arizona, Rep. Jeff Flake of Mesa. The lawmakers told the president that the federal government's failure to enact comprehensive immigration reform has placed "an undue burden on state and local governments by encouraging a policy patchwork of immigration laws." Click here for the letter.

The congresswoman has also sent letters about border security to Secretaries Hillary Clinton and Janet Napolitano. Click here to read about those letters and click here for a recent story on this issue from the Sierra Vista Herald.

Giffords recently discussed border security with The NewsHour on PBS. Her interview is expected to be broadcast this evening.

"President Obama has been in office two months. He inherited an economy in shambles, two wars and strained diplomatic relations with much of the world," said Giffords, a member of the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services committee. "But the mounting violence on our southern border must be given priority attention."