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Ron, thank you for that introduction, and for inviting me
to be part of an event that shows just how important the border
is to our two countries.
I especially want to express thanks for the support of Governor
Jose Guadalupe Osuna Millan, whom I first met shortly after
he was elected. Since then, it was clear to me that he had
a great vision for this region.
I also want to thank Jorge Ramos Hernandez, Mayor of Tijuana,
for being here. I’d also like to welcome all the mayors who
are with us today.
And I would like to take a moment to express my gratitude
to all law enforcement agents who put their lives on the line
each day, especially to Municipal Public Security Secretary
Alberto Capella.
As some of you may know, I am from the border myself, and
although my home is well over a thousand miles east of here,
I can tell you from the bottom of my heart that I know what
it is like to live in this land.
And I’ll tell you the truth, I believe that one of the biggest
challenges of my job – and sometimes one of the most frustrating
aspects of it - has been to try to bring the reality and the
message of the border to Mexico City and to Washington, D.C.
The good news is, at last they are listening to us.
While the big policy themes are formulated and hammered out
in Washington and Mexico, it is on the border where policies
face reality and where they often have their biggest impact.
Whether the issue is immigration, water, commerce, law enforcement
or border security, if you really want to understand, you
have to come to Tijuana…
It is impossible to stand in this spot, where a new Consulate
building will soon begin to rise, and not be struck by the
importance of this area for our economies and ways of life.
I could speak of millions of dollars of commercial trade,
of all of vehicles that cross the border, and the jobs they
create… but this is where the statistics – impressive as they
are – fall short.
Numbers alone will never be able to show just how intricately
linked we are in border communities. People have family members
on both sides of the border. Some work in one country and
live in the other. You turn on the television here and see
a Spanish language program broadcast from San Diego or listen
to your favorite English-language radio show…coming from Tijuana.
People and families flow back and forth; something which has
been positive throughout our history…
But that doesn’t mean we are not aware of a reality that
concerns us….
Like so many of you, I have seen violence related to narco-trafficking
spread. I have also seen law enforcement officers who protect
us become victims of the drug cartels that operate in both
our countries.
Like so many of you, I have heard the concerns of everyday
Mexicans from all across the country, concerns about their
security, their communities, and the safety of their children.
But I've also seen both the Mexican and the U.S. governments,
steadfast and courageous in their commitments to fighting
those who threaten our societies. They have set new records
in the volume of seizures, both cash and cocaine, and more
drug kingpins have been extradited than ever before.
And we know that the commitment is not only at the federal
level. Ron tells me that these first months have made it clear
that Governor Osuna’s administration is committed to restoring
order and battling organized crime.
State and local level law enforcement agencies along the
border have forged important binational relationships. Because,
if we do not share the responsibility and blame each other,
only the criminals win.
The construction of this new Consulate is a sign of just
how important the bilateral relationship is. We are constructing
this building for the future, a common future, that we shared
each day more, something we have done for centuries and will
continue doing forever.
I would like to end this speech as I always do, by simply
asking that God bless both the United States and Mexico, and
today particularly, this region that unites us.
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