In The News
THE MONITOR: FBI numbers show border cities’ murder rate smaller than bigger metro cities
MCALLEN, Texas,
October 8, 2015
Posted: Thursday, October 8, 2015 6:36 pm FBI statistics showed cities along the Texas-Mexico border have a lower murder rate than other major cities in the U.S., according to a news release from Congressman Henry Cuellar’s office. U.S. Rep. Cuellar, D-Laredo, released on Thursday evening a compilation of the 2014 statistics from officials at the Federal Bureau of Investigations that shows a lower murder rate in cities near the Texas-Mexico border, according to the release. In 2014, there were 242 murders in Houston and 116 murders in Dallas compared with 14 murders in Laredo, six in McAllen, and five in Brownsville and El Paso combined, according to the release. “Many people, both in the political arena and out, mischaracterize the southern border region as very unsafe. But today’s numbers, for yet another year, paint a very different picture. These statistics clearly show that some of the safest cities in the United States are on the U.S.-Mexico border,” Cuellar said in a prepared statement. “The murder rate is actually higher in Washington, D.C. where I work than in McAllen, El Paso or Brownsville, all along the Texas border with Mexico. These numbers should cause people to rethink some of the things they may have heard about the region. Misinformation like that hurts our local economy and makes it difficult to attract skilled workers and encourage investment.” Along with a lower murder rate, the statistics from 2014 also show fewer robberies in cities along the Texas-Mexico border with 10,186 and 4,202 in Houston and Dallas respectively compared with 415 in El Paso, 196 in Laredo, 138 in Brownsville and 68 in McAllen, according to the release.
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