Cuellar reminds SA to DC group that border region is misunderstood

Rep. Henry Cuellar, the only Texas Democrat serving on the House Appropriations Committee, jokingly told SA to DC participants, “I could talk about appropriations, but there’s no earmarks and no money.”

Cuellar, instead, spent most of his time discussing immigration.  The Laredo native observed that the farther people live from the border, the stronger their opinions about the border tend to be – and they tend to be wrong.

The border region is not “the safest place in the whole world,” Cuellar noted.  But a GAO report he requested found that the crime rate along the border is lower than in Washington, D.C. and lower than the national average.

Cuellar laid out three elements for effective immigration reform.  First, smart border security that relies on technology, rather then using a 14th century solution – a fence – for a 21st century problem; second, a guest worker program; and third, a sensible solution to the 12 million undocumented residents already in the United States – not amnesty, but some sort of pathway to legal residency.

Capitol Hill Meetings - the heart of the trip

More than a dozen issue teams take our Federal Agenda issues to Capitol Hill with their specific talking points that will help convince our elected leaders of their importance.

Photo: Members of the SA to DC Transportation issue team meeting with Rep. Pete Gallego.

National Journal editor calls Castro brothers the 'future of politics.'

At the opening session of SA to DC 2013, National Journal editor Ron Fournier said Mayor Julian Castro and Rep. Joaquin Castro represent the future of American politics. "The two gentlemen from your state are the two rising stars in politics." Fournier said that a time of extreme cynicism in politics, the willingness of individuals to come to Washington to serve as advocates, such as with SA to DC, provides a ray of hope for political pragmatism.