bobbyw24
04-04-2010, 01:18 PM
The debate over U.S. border security has been reignited following an Arizona cattle rancher’s murder, with lawmakers renewing their call for more troops and facing a public outrage that is shaping up to make border control a main issue in this year’s elections.
Both Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) sent letters last week to the White House asking for additional National Guard troops along the U.S.-Mexico border after rancher Robert Krentz was shot to death on his farm last Sunday.
Krentz’s expansive ranch runs along the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona and though authorities are still investigating the slaying, officials were able to track the footprints of the suspected killer across the border into Mexico, which has caused some to posit that the murderer could be an undocumented immigrant who traveled across the border illegally. Krentz was known as a good Samaritan who would give illegal immigrants water and help if they were injured.
The slaying has further highlighted the threat of ongoing drug-cartel violence, as the border is not just a human-smuggling route but a drug-smuggling corridor as well.
Three people with ties to the U.S. Consulate were shot dead last month in Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas, in a gang-style assassination. And about 18,000 people have been killed since Mexican President Felipe Calderon took power in 2006 and began an all-out war against drug cartels in his country. The majority of the slain have been involved in some level of the drug or illegal weapons business.
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/90531-ranchers-slaying-intensifies-political-fury-over-border-security
Both Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) sent letters last week to the White House asking for additional National Guard troops along the U.S.-Mexico border after rancher Robert Krentz was shot to death on his farm last Sunday.
Krentz’s expansive ranch runs along the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona and though authorities are still investigating the slaying, officials were able to track the footprints of the suspected killer across the border into Mexico, which has caused some to posit that the murderer could be an undocumented immigrant who traveled across the border illegally. Krentz was known as a good Samaritan who would give illegal immigrants water and help if they were injured.
The slaying has further highlighted the threat of ongoing drug-cartel violence, as the border is not just a human-smuggling route but a drug-smuggling corridor as well.
Three people with ties to the U.S. Consulate were shot dead last month in Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas, in a gang-style assassination. And about 18,000 people have been killed since Mexican President Felipe Calderon took power in 2006 and began an all-out war against drug cartels in his country. The majority of the slain have been involved in some level of the drug or illegal weapons business.
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/90531-ranchers-slaying-intensifies-political-fury-over-border-security