Laredo Border Patrol Chief Delivers State of the Border Address

LAREDO, Texas – On Friday, February 1, 2019, Chief Chavez addressed the current security and humanitarian crisis on the Southern border focusing on the Laredo Sector area of operations. The Laredo Sector covers 86,673 square miles in 101 counties, all the way to the Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas borders.  Among the invitees to this special address were local stakeholders, city and county leaders, among various non-governmental organizations.

Chief Chavez’s priority was to engage local community and non-governmental leaders to speak on the push and pull factors of illegal immigration that our Border Patrol agents encounter on a daily basis, but he also spoke about the strain on Border Patrol resources in dealing with injured and sick individuals crossing illegally. Furthermore, he explained the current political asylum process and some challenges faced by our government when validating these cases from non-cooperating countries across the globe.   

Chief Chavez spoke about the trans-national criminal organizations and the narcotics flow in between the ports of entry.  A huge network of criminal cells operating as crossing guides, drivers of dangerous failure-to-yield events, stash house operators, and abuse of the huge legitimate trade traffic that Laredo has.

Chief Chavez stressed that a combination of manpower, technology, and infrastructure, including a physical barrier, is the best formula for combating illegal activity on the border and ensuring the overall safety of our community and our nation.

After the presentation, Chief Chavez took questions from the audience and accompanied several members on a tour of the holding facilities at the station.