Abbott, Cuellar Want Answers on Border Security

Austin (WBAP/KLIF News) – Republican Governor Greg Abbott and Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar have sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson to ask about cuts for aerial surveillance at the border.

This year’s plan cuts resources for “Operation Phalanx” by 50 percent. The operation was established by executive order in 2010 to authorize the use of up to 1,200 soldiers and airmen to work with Customs and Border Protection.

“Given the recent surge of migrants from Central American and Cuba along the Southern border, we believe DHS should be requesting more surveillance and security resources, not less,” Abbott and Cuellar write.

According to the letter, Texas has spent $1.7 billion of its own for border security since 2005.

“It is our expectation that the federal government similarly fulfill its obligation when it comes to securing the border,” the two write.

The two write that a cut now contradicts the mission of border security.

The letter cites a request from Texas in September for more aerial resources. Abbott and Cuellar say that request went unanswered. The call the current cuts in manpower “unsettling.”

Abbott and Cuellar asked Johnson for details. The two say they want plans for staffing cuts and “resource allocation” in Laredo, the Rio Grande Valley and Tucson.

The letter also asks for the statistics used to determine how a 50 percent reduction in manpower would sufficiently support the operation.