Rep. Henry Cuellar: ‘The Border Is Safer Than Washington, D.C.’
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) told C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal” on Thursday that the U.S.-Mexico border is safer than the nation’s capital.
“The border is safer than Washington, D.C. The murder rate here might be three to four murders per 100,000. Where you and I work in Washington, D.C., I believe it’s 15.9 murders per 100,000, so it’s a lot safer here than where we work in Washington, D.C.” Cuellar said, speaking from Laredo, Texas. “So they have this perception – people that run for national office, some people that run for state office – always paint the border as the flashpoint, and that’s what they use as a punching bag, but if you look at this border, it’s safe, and it certainly creates a lot of jobs for – not only for us here, but across the nation,” Cuellar added. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigations, there were only 105 murders and non-negligent manslaughter in Washington, D.C., at a rate of 15.9 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2014 – the latest year of available data.
Texas, California, Arizona, and New Mexico lie on the U.S.-Mexico border. In Texas, there were 1,184 murders at a rate of 4.4 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2014. In Arizona that same year, there were 319 murders at a rate of 4.7 per 100,000 inhabitants.
In California, there were 1,699 murders at a rate of 4.4 per 100,000 inhabitants, and in New Mexico, there were 101 murders at a rate of 4.8 per 100,000 inhabitants.
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/melanie-hunter/rep-henry-cuellar-border-safer-washington-dc