Speech - December 3, 2007

Thank you, Mr. Mayor (Mayor Phil Hardberger). It's always a pleasure to be in San Antonio, whether I'm witnessing the Spurs winning another title or watching with pride as your team handles logistics during a time of crisis.

You know, it's nice to see Jack Colley here in a peaceful setting. Most times when we talk, he's briefing me on a natural disaster, so this is a much more enjoyable setting.

Steve McCraw, I want to thank you for your tireless service to Texas. By helping build consensus and teamwork among local, state and federal officials, you make our homeland a safer place.

Commissioner Staples, Colonel Davis, Judge Wolff, Representative Corte…your presence here is yet another example of your willingness to deal with threats to our state, keeping the safety of our citizens at the top of your priority list.

You know, two years ago, when Louisiana was under water and overwhelmed, I took a call from their Governor. She asked us to help their citizens displaced by the storm. Because I knew firsthand what the people in our state…led by the people in this room…were capable of, I could answer her request with a simple three-word sentence.

"Send them all."

What unfolded after that conversation showed what it means to do things Texas-style. Watching on their TVs, people all over the world saw innovation, sacrifice and, most of all, leadership in action.

In an unprecedented display of coordination, state officials worked with local governments, church groups linked arms with Texas companies, law enforcement coordinated with their military counterparts, and half a million wet, tired people were given hope.

Those hectic days of 2005 are a distant memory, but we learned from them and applied lessons learned to improve an already strong organization.
This Homeland Security conference is one example of that. When your homeland is Texas, you work harder to secure it.

This summer, when Hurricane Dean drew a bead on our coast, the people in this hall made a team effort that showed the remarkable progress we've made in the past two years.

The preparations for Dean rallied resources and efforts from local government, Texas Military Forces, volunteer organizations, private sector partners, state agencies, school districts, and law enforcement.

In the days heading up to projected landfall, a steady stream of fuel tankers, ice trucks and school buses flowed toward the target zone, local officials kept their people informed, and first responders got ready for the worst case scenario.

This was a groundbreaking approach. Rather than wait for the first storm surge, the loss of life, or video of people huddled on rooftops, we took the initiative and stood ready to protect the people of Texas.

That is leadership, Texas style.

[PAUSE]

Storms aren't the only threat to our state. We all understand the importance of securing our border.

To people in other parts of the country, the border is a clear, black line on a map, an easy thing to define, discuss and defend. For those of us who live in a border state, we understand that things aren't always so clear-cut.

There are many relationships that span the border. There are family ties, economic partnerships, and cultural connections that predate the founding of our nation. Everything we do to secure our border is done in light of this reality.

Our job is to answer one question: how can we secure our border from those who would do us harm…without jeopardizing a rich, productive relationship with a longtime neighbor?

Those of you who stand guard on our border understand that a giant wall is not the answer.

Those of you who live in the border region understand that the problems are real. You know that criminals constantly probe our border for weak points through which they can pass their drugs, cash, weapons and human cargo. And they move in both directions.

When they get through, our state suffers and our nation is weakened.

You also know that the threats to our border go beyond the drug trade. We know that individuals from countries with whom we are at war, nations that harbor terrorists, have sought entry to our country. The international terror threat is real and it is nearby. Securing our homeland starts at the border, and it is done by the people in this room.

The combined strength of committed, experienced officers, working together across divisional lines, equipped with advanced technology, sufficient resources and the freedom to make decisions are the key to our current and future safety.

And we know it works. In a series of surge operations over the past few years, we have seen the clear-cut value of this approach. Operations Linebacker, Rio Grande and Wrangler taught us a lot about coordination and gave criminals an important lesson about messing with Texas.

Right now, we are more than two months into Operation Border Star, making a serious dent in criminal activity along the border. Coordinating with our respected friends in the Border Patrol, focusing our resources on key entry points and communicating freely among agencies, we have shown we can slow the bad guys to a stop.

And as we watch, we have seen an increase in gang activity as the drug smugglers work to rebuild organizations weakened by our efforts.
Reports are streaming in from the field of decreasing criminal activity along the border. According to a recent report from Hidalgo, criminal activity has shrunk nearly to nothing as a result of north and southbound searches on their bridges. An article in last week's Savannah Morning News reported that drug dealers as far away as Georgia are starting to prey on each other because their supply routes through Texas have been pinched. In Starr County, more than 5,000 pounds of marijuana were seized and eighteen kilos of cocaine were snared south of Cotulla. On one day last month, more than $400,000 was seized in just two traffic stops.

And we're protecting lives. Last week, a coyote's tractor trailer was stopped and tragedy averted when the 22 people he was smuggling were released from its harsh confines. Our list of successes is growing every day and the bad guys are getting the message. This is what it looks like when a border is secured.

Our work is far from done, but the message we are sending about our priorities and what we'll do to protect our citizens is getting through. The message to the criminal element is this: "We know who you are, we know what you're doing, and we are watching you."

And so, I am here today to thank all of you here for your contributions to our safety. The long hours you work, the hunches you follow, the risks you take, they all make a difference. And, on behalf of more than 23 million Texans, I want to thank you for standing between us and harm. We love our homeland, our treasured Texas, and we have you to thank for its security.

May God bless you and, through you, may he continue to bless the Great State of Texas.