HOUSTON CHRONICLE

August 17, 2006

Hurtt cites costs of requiring local police to enforce federal laws

By HARVEY RICE
Houston Chronicle

Houston will have to add thousands of police officers if an immigration bill approved by the U.S. House of Representatives becomes law, Chief Harold Hurtt told members of a House subcommittee Wednesday.

"We would need between 2,000 and 2,500 more officers for immigration enforcement," Hurtt testified in a hearing on immigration reform at the new Harris County Civil Courthouse downtown.

The hearing was the 13th of 21 that House Republicans have scheduled around the nation during Congress' August recess to drum up public support for a bill focusing on tough border enforcement.

The legislation conflicts with a Senate bill, backed by President Bush, that would tighten border security, create a guest worker program and provide a path to citizenship for at least some of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants now in the country.

As protesters from both sides of the debate waved U.S. flags, held banners and chanted slogans outside the courthouse, 13 witnesses testified in the hearing, presided over by Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, who chairs the subcommittee.

McCaul and Rep. Ted Poe, R-Humble, spoke of a violence-plagued border that they said has become a gateway for terrorists, drug cartels, human trafficking and violent criminals. But Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee and Gene Green, both D-Houston, called the hearings a "road show" that exaggerated the dangers.

Hurtt and City Councilman Adrian Garcia took aim at a provision in the House bill, sponsored by Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, that would cut federal funding to police departments that refuse to enforce immigration laws.

Hurtt called the provision "misguided and wrong," saying immigration enforcement would draw police away from more serious crimes.

Garcia said immigration enforcement would turn a 15-minute traffic stop into an hourlong ordeal and add paperwork, as officers were forced to comply with laws preventing them from stopping people solely because of race or ethnicity.

They were backed by Jaime Esparza, the district attorney in El Paso County, who said police enforcement of immigration laws would stop illegal immigrants from reporting crimes and force them to turn to gangs for protection.

McCaul, however, said the border is an entry point to the United States for the terrorist organizations al-Qaida and Hezbollah.

Terrorists crossing

Webb County Sheriff Rick Flores told the subcommittee he believes human trafficking organizations in Mexico are bringing terrorists into this country.

He said he had never arrested a terrorist, but knew that illegal immigrants from Middle Eastern countries had been apprehended on the border.

To emphasize the extent of border violence, the panel showed a 1992 video of a fierce gunfight between Mexican federal police and members of a drug cartel in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, across the border from Laredo.

Bodies could be seen in the street.

Dennis Nixon, chairman of the International Bank of Commerce in Laredo, countered that portrayal, saying he feels safe walking down the street.

He denounced the House bill's provision for a wall along the border as a threat to commerce.

That drew a sharp reaction from Poe, who ridiculed it as "the standard chamber of commerce statement we heard when we were down there."

Drawing applause from spectators, he accused Nixon of being concerned only with making money.

Nixon refused to back down, saying of Laredo, "We're like any other town in America."

Police enforcement

Among those supporting police enforcement was Carrie Ruiz, 53, of Houston, who sobbed as she testified that a Venezuelan illegally in the country stabbed her daughter to death in 1999 and avoided prosecution by fleeing to his homeland.

McCaul said Jesus Salazar would not have been able to leave the country after the slaying of Felicia Ruiz, 17, if police had checked his immigration status during questioning.

But Esparza said the Culberson provision wouldn't make any difference, because current law and police procedure allow police to check immigration status during criminal investigations.

Harris County Judge Robert Eckels said health care for illegal immigrants cost the county $128 million in 2005, reflecting a 17.7 percent increase in undocumented patients from the previous year and a 50 percent rise in costs.

He added, however, that uninsured U.S. citizens are a much bigger problem for the county Hospital District.

Border Watch rally

Outside the courthouse, members of U.S. Border Watch called for greater enforcement of existing immigration laws and border security.

Some others, however, said they want the entire immigration system reformed, rather than focusing just on the Mexican border.

"I'm here because I feel like we want all these people working here, but we don't want them to be legal," said Robert Wager, of The Metropolitan Organization. "We want immigrants here, but we don't want to give them legal status. Or maybe we just want to pay them a pittance."

Desmond Taylor, of the Texas chapter of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, said illegal immigration is costing the federal government "a fortune."

The 64-year-old retired management consultant was among people holding signs that read: "Stop the invasion, protect our borders now," and "Texas is not a Mexican colony."

Another Border Watch member, Brian Kohl, 33, said illegal immigration promotes gang violence and drug trafficking.

"If they come to become American and become part of its tradition, then they are welcome with open arms," he said.

'One-sided' hearings

Macario Ramirez, an immigrant advocate, called the hearing one-sided. "Immigrants are here to work," he said. "They're not here to take."

Ahmad Hassan, who said he came here legally from Egypt almost 30 years ago, stood with those supporting stricter rules.

He said he understands the hardships of the legal process, having applied for a student visa seven times before he was approved.

"Anybody can do it," said Hassan, a Republican candidate for the District 18 House seat now held by Jackson Lee. "It's not easy, but nothing in life is easy."