My own State of Maine participated in that operation with a great degree of success. Arthur Cleaves. the Director of the Maine Emergency Management Agency. told me that Maine realized the Nations second highest level of agency participation in Operation Stonegarden with 22 State. county. local. and tribal agencies involved. These dedicated law enforcement professionals assisted the Border Patrol Sector in Houlton. ME. with increased patrols. reporting of incidents. and arrests of significant persons attempting to enter the United States from Canada. In fact. according to the final report on the programs activities in Maine. more than 12 arrests of persons on Government watch lists were made by State and local law enforcement in Maine. Now. however. the Department proposes to pull the rug out from under border States by allowing urban area grant funds to be used for such border security efforts. but not State grant funds. This approach makes no sense whatsoever. And when my staff asked. even the Department could not explain the rationale behind the policy of allowing interior citiesbut not more rural border areasto use Federal funds to partner with State. local. and tribal law enforcement to protect our borders. Partnering with State and local law enforcement is a proven and cost effective way to buttress our Nations Federal border security efforts. I urge its adoption.
Keywords matched
border security Border Patrol