Today, Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28) announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved the flight of an unmanned aerial vehicle over 1,200 miles of the Texas-Mexico border, in addition to the Texas Gulf Coast. As a result of the decision, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) can now move forward in permanently stationing a remotely-piloted aircraft in Texas. This will be the first UAV based and operated in Texas to help combat illegal activity along the Texas-Mexico border. Read more »
U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) today announced the success and further expansion of ICE’s Secure Communities strategy to
south Texas. Secure Communities utilizes a biometric information-sharing capability to enable ICE
to better identify aliens at the time they are fingerprinted and booked on criminal charges. Read more »
Today, Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Border, Maritime and Global Counterterrorism, made the following statement regarding the first unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flight over West Texas on Tuesday, June 1, 2010, by Customs and Border Protection Office of Air and Marine. Today, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed the UAV flight occurred over a portion of West Texas Tuesday.
Read more »
Congressmen Henry Cuellar (D-Laredo) and Michael McCaul (R-Austin) had a first-hand look at new technology that would allow federal agents patrolling the borders to disable the engines of boats and land vehicles from a distance without harm to occupants. The technology, developed by Applied Physical Electronics of Spicewood, TX, has the potential to strengthen border and port security by mitigating the risks involved in initial contact between law enforcement and suspected smugglers. Read more »
Today, Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28) voted to extend over $4 billion worth of vitally important tax cuts to hard-working families and supported legislation to fund the Department of Defense though 2011, including funding to create a new South Texas Joint Training Center in Tilden, Texas, for the Texas Air and Army National Guard. Both bills passed the House late Friday before Congress adjourned to recognize Memorial Day. Read more »
On Wednesday, officials from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) briefed Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28) on the unmanned aircraft system expected to patrol the Texas-Mexico border by this fall. The technical briefing reviewed the operational capacities of the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), in anticipation of an impending flight approval from the Federal Aviation Administration. Read more »
Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Border, Maritime and Global Counterterrorism, today announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved a Certification of Authorization (COA) for an unmanned aerial vehicle to patrol a portion of the U.S. Mexico border extending from Arizona to the El Paso region of Texas effective Tuesday, June 1, 2010. This is one of two COAs that have been submitted to FAA to approve the flights of unmanned aerial vehicles along the Texas-Mexico border. Read more »
Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28) today joined southern border lawmakers and top security officials from the United States and Mexico to discuss the state of affairs between the two countries on Cinco de Mayo, a day which marks the historic triumph of the Mexican people over the French Army in the battle of Puebla in 1862. Congressmen Solomon Ortiz (D-TX) and Harry Teague (D-NM) hosted the Capitol Hill meeting between the group of border lawmakers and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Mexico Interior Secretary Fernandez Gomez-Mont, Mexico Ambassador to the United States Arturo Sarukhan, ICE Assistant Secretary John Morton and CBP Commissioner Alan Bersin. Read more »
Border Members of Congress, including Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28), are urging the Speaker of the House to provide emergency funding to fight drug-related violence along the U.S. Mexico Border. In a letter signed by nine congressional members from Texas, Arizona, California and New Mexico, lawmakers call the recent upswing in border violence a demonstrated need for immediate funds to secure the border. Read more »
Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28) returned late Wednesday from a senior congressional delegation visit to Mexico City for meetings with President Felipe Calderon and other high-ranking government officials to discuss the future of the Mérida Initiative, ongoing border security and the recent escalation in southern border violence along the Rio Grande. House Permanent Select Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) led the delegation visit with Congressman Cuellar and Senior House Appropriations Committee member Congressman Ed Pastor (D-AZ). Read more »
