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NM Governor declares state of emergency in border counties
COLUMBUS, N.M. (AP) -- Gov. Bill Richardson on Friday declared an emergency in four New Mexico counties along the border, an action that lets him free up money to be spent on everything from fighting drug smuggling to fencing a livestock yard.The executive order, issued after Richardson toured the area around Columbus, Columbus is the town attacked by Pancho Villa and the base for Pershing's punistive expedition. makes $750,000 immediately available to Dona Ana, Luna, Grant and Hidalgo counties. This is all four counties that touch Mexico. He pledged an additional $1 million. The money will aid state and area law enforcement efforts, fund a field office for the state Office of Homeland Security and help build a fence to protect a Columbus-area livestock yard where a number of cattle have been killed or stolen. Richardson's declaration said law enforcement officials have used all available resources to help with border security. But those efforts haven't alleviated the situation, which he said "constitutes an emergency condition with potentially catastrophic consequences." "Recent developments have convinced me this action is necessary - including violence directed at law enforcement, damage to property and livestock, increased evidence of drug smuggling and an increase in the number of undocumented immigrants," he said. He also ordered the New Mexico Department of Agriculture to work with the state Livestock Board to assess the safety of livestock in the region. The funds include nearly $50,000 for an 11-foot, razor wire-topped security fence around the stockyards. It will replace a shorter, barbed-wire fence that Richardson said "is so full of holes and gaps that trucks and people can cross with no control." Now if they can just connect it to the wall they're building west of Yuma... The new fence will help prevent cattle from Mexico straying across the border, officials said. "We don't want contagious diseases to contaminate our food supply and disrupt our agricultural economy," Richardson said in a statement before his trip. Daniel Manzanares, executive director of the Livestock Board, said at least 100 cattle from Mexico have been found in the area. The agency hasn't traced any outbreaks of disease to Mexican cattle, but Manzanares said he suspects some have carried bovine tuberculosis into New Mexico. The current state of the stockyard fence means people have been able to illegally enter the country as well. "We definitely have concerns about biosecurity and agroterrorism," said Tim Manning, New Mexico's homeland security adviser. Richardson is a Democrat and former memeber of Clinton's cabinet. Even so, he seems pretty level-headed. He pushed a cut of NM's income tax rates in half right after taking office. Might make a decent President, so of course would have no chance in the primaries. Posted by: Jackal 2005-08-12 |
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