Are We Or Are We Not Safe? Jose Rodriguez Admits Security Risk In El Paso

Democratic elected officials have been prancing around telling all of El Paso that we ARE the safest city in the whole country when at best all they should be saying is that in 2010 we were awarded the Safest City with a population with 500,000 or more. There were two more cities who were also named Safest City but they were in different population categories.

To me this is like being the reigning Super Bowl Champion the season after you won the big game. You might have the rings that prove that you were the best last year, or "safest" in this case, but that does not mean you are the best or even any good this year or in our case does not mean you are the safest or even safe for that matter. My jaw drops when I hear Congressman Silvestre Reyes or Senator Jose Rodriguez have the audacity to look into a camera and look constituents in the eye and tell them we ARE the safest city in the country when we have had more murders in the first three months of this year than we had all last year, when we have had more police officer involved shootings, we have had more traffic fatalities and now we have had more REPORTED incidents of police officers being arrested for crimes they allegedly committed. I say reported because it has always happened but it was rarely reported when Richard Wiles was the chief of police. It would have tarnished his image. We wouldn't want to do that would we? (sorry had to take that shot)

We live a few feet away from the deadliest city in the world, Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, yet Reyes and Rodriguez turn the blind eye to border security. They claim border security is secret code word for anti-immigrant, or secret racist talk for those who hate Mexicans. First of all immigrants come from all over the world but if we talk about the Mexican border, you have immigrants from not just  Mexico but from Central and South America. Just take a look at all the bodies that were found in mass graves in Tamaulipas, Mexico. But to set the record straight, there have been some incidents of  Muslim extremist who have been caught crossing illegally through Mexico. Click here to read some of those stories.

But back to Rodriguez. In a story by Zahira Torres from the Austin Bureau of the El Paso Times, Rodriguez is quoted as saying:

"some of those victims have been targeted by drug cartels, creating a security risk for other patients, hospital staff and visitors."

Rodriguez was referring to victims of drug violence in Juarez who were taken to UMC (University Medical Center) that is in El Paso, Texas to be treated for their wounds. So let me get this straight. Rodriguez goes around telling everyone that we are all fine and dandy. That there is nothing to worry about and that there is no spill over violence. Rodriguez is completely against anything that comes close to protecting El Pasoans from the drug cartels and says we have nothing to worry about since we live in the Safest City in the country. Yet he contradicts himself by saying that there is a "security risk" at the hospital and that is why he has filled a bill in the Senate  that would give the hospital it's own police force. Last time I checked the hospital was in El Paso, Texas. North of the Mexican Border. So if I understand correctly, Rodriguez is saying that the drug cartels ARE targeting people in El Paso and that has created a security risk in El Paso. Once again, the hospital is in El Paso and not in Mexico.

Thank you Senator Rodriguez for finally telling the truth. You may have contradicted everything you have ever said about the drug cartels , spill over violence and gone against everything you and your party stand for when it comes to border security but you have finally done something right. Members of your party will either want to remove you from office for making those "Anti-Democrat" statements, I guess keeping people safe is Anti-Democrat, or will say the comment was taken out of context and say that this was an isolated incident, but of course its not.

Now we can start moving towards being a safe city again. I am tired of this reactive mentality that we have had in El Paso for so long. We need to be pro-active and assure that El Pasoans are kept safe and not do something only after a devastating incident happens. Thank you once again Senator Rodriguez for standing up for what is right. I just hope you don't find a way to twist this story around and say that the safety of the hospital and the safety of El Paso are two diffrent things.