Today, the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee has scheduled the Violence On The Border: Keeping U.S. Personnel Safe hearning today at 10:00 a.m. The stated purpose of the hearing is to “examine the efforts to ensure the safety of U.S. personnel and assets in northern Mexico and along the U.S.-Mexican border.”
Witnesses include William H. Moser, Deputy Director, Bureau of Overseas Building Operations (U.S. Department of State), Gregory B. Starr, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Diplomatic Security (U.S. Department of State), Sue Saarnio, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Western Hemisphere Affairs (U.S. Department of State), Robert L. Harris Director, Joint Task Force – West (U.S. Customs and Border Protection), and Brandon Judd, President, National Border Patrol Council (American Federation of Government Employees).
Improving the security situation in Mexican border cities where U.S. facilities are located is crucial to ensuring the protection of American personnel and citizens who visit U.S. consulates daily, according to a statement released by the Committee.
According to the Committee’s statement, “The risks posed to U.S. personnel and the public by the criminal violence in northern Mexico are numerous including:
- February 2015: the U.S. Consulate in Matamoros reported 227 separate security incidents in the U.S. border region.
- May 2015: two government buildings in Matamoros were struck by bomb attacks.
- June 2015: a gunman on the Mexican side of the border fired multiple shots at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter.
- June 2015: a U.S.-contracted vehicle was hijacked by armed criminals which resulted in the theft of over 11,500 Border Crossing Cards.”