Contact: Vincent Perez 202-225-4831

BORDER CITIES RANKED SAFEST IN AMERICA

(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

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Washington, Nov 22 - Border cities of El Paso, McAllen, Brownsville, San Diego, and Yuma show lower crime rates than Governor Perry’s hometown of Austin

Texas border cities "more secure" than those of Republicans who oppose DREAM Act citing need to “secure the border first”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) released the statement below following today’s announcement that the City of El Paso was ranked the safest large city in America in the latest City Crime Rankings Survey by CQ Press:

“The results of the 2010 City Crime Rankings confirm that border communities remain safer than those of Republican leaders who often portray the U.S. side of the border as insecure.  The City of El Paso has been rated among the top three safest large cities in the nation for 13 years, and is now the safest large city in America for the first time.  In this year’s rankings, the two largest cities on the U.S.-Mexico border (El Paso and San Diego) are among the five safest in the nation.

“It is frustrating that Republican leaders at the state and federal level continue to tarnish the image of border communities for political gain, despite the fact that border cities are safer than their own hometowns.  Over the past few months, Republican leaders have falsely claimed that bombs are exploding in El Paso, that spillover violence is ‘escalating’, and that ‘headless bodies’ are being found in the Arizona desert.  These deceitful claims harm our communities and detract from an honest discussion about the complex challenges facing our nation, such as immigration reform.

“While Governor Perry continues to portray U.S. border cities as violent, the 2010 City Crime Rankings survey shows that the border cities of El Paso, Brownsville, McAllen, San Diego, and Yuma were rated safer than the Texas capital.  In fact, as the Governor calls for more National Guard troops to ‘secure’ the Texas border region, the number of homicides in the City of Austin is at its highest level in a decade.  The fact remains that border cities are more ‘secure’ than those of Republicans who refuse to support DREAM Act until we ‘secure the border first.’

“One of the keys to El Paso’s success has been the community relationships that our local police have forged to earn the trust of the people.  It is troubling that incoming state lawmakers in Texas have already filled legislation to mirror Arizona’s attempts to use local police officers to enforce immigration laws.  From my 26 years of experience in law enforcement, I know that such intrusive measures will only incite fear among the immigrant community, lead to a new level of mistrust of law enforcement, and jeopardize our status as the safest city in the nation.  Immigrants will be far less likely to share potentially valuable information with police that could help solve crimes, and undocumented immigrants will be at greater risk to be victimized by criminals who will exploit their silence.

"As residents of the safest city in the nation, El Pasoans know first-hand that public safety is best achieved when local police focus on crime, not on the enforcement of federal immigration laws.”

To view the 2010 City Crime Rankings click here.