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I would like to take the liberty sharing a letter with you that I recently received from our NM U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich, along with my response to his letter regarding border security or lack thereof:

Letter From NM U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich:

“February 21, 2019

Dear Mr. Martinez,

Thank you for contacting me regarding border security along the international boundary between the U.S. and Mexico.  I appreciate knowing your thoughts and concerns on this important issue.

Those of us who represent and actually understand our nation's border region know that the construction of a border wall is not an effective or smart way to enforce immigration laws or protect our national security.

Over the years, I have made it a point to sit down and listen to a wide range of New Mexicans who live in our state's border region.  That includes private landowners and ranchers in our rugged southwestern Bootheel, business owners who rely on binational trade, and families living in vibrant border communities.  None of these New Mexicans want to see a border wall built right outside their living room window or additional interior border checkpoints in their communities.

I have also met with Border Patrol agents in New Mexico who work in the remote, mountainous and desert terrain areas of our border region to listen to their concerns.  Based on these conversations, I understand that we must invest in the resources and technologies these agents need to do their jobs effectively and keep our nation secure.

This is why on February 7, 2019, I was proud to introduce pragmatic proposals that address the gaps in our border security debate and reflect the realities of our border communities.  Specifically, I introduced the Remote Areas Border Security Enhancements Act, which would make smart investments in technology and equipment in rural and remote border areas.  The bill also includes a new pilot program to address Border Patrol's high attrition rate, which is regularly higher than the rate of most other federal law enforcement agencies.

I also introduced the Trade Facilitation and Security Enhancement Act, which would ensure safe and efficient trade along the border by increasing commercial hours of operation at some of our nation's busiest southern land ports of entry (POEs), like the Santa Teresa POE.  The bill would also direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in consultation with the Administrator of General Services, to conduct a study of designated POEs to identify improvements to redesign, modernize, and improve efficiency.

Moving forward, any solution to fix our broken immigration system will need to be bipartisan.  We must act now to pass comprehensive legislation that includes a visa system that meets the needs of our economy, a tough but fair path to earned citizenship for the estimated 11 million people in our country who are undocumented, and a plan that ensures safety and security at our borders.

Again, thank you for contacting me.  I hope you will continue keeping me informed of the issues important to you.

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Sincerely,

MARTIN HEINRICH

United States Senator”

My Response to Above Letter From NM U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich:

February 21, 2019

Dear Senator Martin Heinrich: 

I would like to thank you for your recent response to my letter regarding border security along the international boundary between the U.S. and Mexico.  In your response to my letter you made it crystal clear to me that ‘those of you who represent and actually understand our nation's border region know that the construction of a border wall is not an effective or smart way to enforce immigration laws or protect our national security.’

I would like to take this opportunity to share the contents of a letter that I recently sent to our newly elected Governor, which I believe will lay out my concerns in detail regarding security and/or lack thereof at our southern border:

Letter to NM Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham:

February 14, 2019

Honorable Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham:

On January 18, 2019, I wrote to your office regarding various gun control proposals that you supported on the campaign trail and which had recently been filed in the New Mexico Legislature, along with revealing some safety and security concerns that were expressed by several ranchers that currently reside at and/or near our southern border after discovering Islamic prayer rugs on their property in the past several months. What follows are links to articles and/or reports that were included in said letter:

New gun crime numbers are bad news for the gun control lobby!-Posted on Conservative Review-By Nate Madden-On January 17, 2019:

https://www.conservativereview.com/news/new-gun-crime-numbers-are-bad-news-for-the-gun-control-lobby/  

New Mexico Border Ranchers: We Found Prayer Rugs on Our Property, ‘It’s Unreal’!-Posted on The Western Journal-By Ben Marquis-On January 16, 2019:

https://www.westernjournal.com/ct/new-mexico-border-ranchers-found-prayer-rugs-property-unreal/?ff_source=Email&ff_medium=patriotupdate&ff_campaign=dailypm&ff_content=libertyalliance

Today I am writing because of your recent actions that called for the removal of the majority of our National Guard troops from our southern border, which were revealed in the following recent articles:

Residents of Small US Town Send Grave Warning After Governor Claims Border Crisis Doesn’t Exist!-Posted on The Western Journal-By Jared Harris-On January 29, 2019:

https://www.westernjournal.com/ct/residents-small-us-town-send/?ff_source=Email&ff_medium=newsletter-CT&ff_campaign=dailypm&ff_content=conservative-tribune

Governor to withdraw majority of National Guard troops from border!-Posted on KOB4.com-By Joshua Panas-On February 5, 2019:

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico-news/governor-to-withdraw-majority-of-national-guard-troops-from-border/5235279/?cat=504

Jaw-dropping: NM Gov. Endangers Citizens, Withdraws Nat’l Guard from Border!-Posted on The Western Journal-By Ben Marquis-On February 8, 2019:

https://www.westernjournal.com/ct/jaw-dropping-nm-gov-endangers-citizens-withdraws-natl-guard-border-just-spite-trump/?ff_source=Email&ff_medium=rightalerts&ff_campaign=dailyam&ff_content=ttp

New Mexico Gov. Grisham is allowing the invasion of her state!-Posted on Conservative Review-By Daniel Horowitz-On February 11, 2019:

https://www.conservativereview.com/news/new-mexico-gov-grisham-allowing-invasion-state/

I, like many other New Mexico residents, am extremely concerned about your recent actions that called for the removal of the majority of our National Guard troops from our southern boarder, as reported in the above recent articles and/or reports, because of the disturbing information that was revealed during a recent Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Worldwide Threats that were predicated on a just released report titled: "World-Wide Threat Assessment," which was issued by Daniel Coats, the Director of the Office of National Intelligence. Elements of this report addressed issues that have a nexus to border security and immigration law enforcement.  What follows is a link to a recent article and/or report that revealed said Senate Intelligence Committee hearing:

World-Wide Threat Assessment Makes Powerful Case For Border Security: Senate hears from leaders of the intelligence community!-Posted on Front Page Magazine-By Michael Cutler-On February 1, 2019:

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/272739/world-wide-threat-assessment-makes-powerful-case-michael-cutler

Additionally, On or about February 10, 2019, Judicial Watch (a non-partisan watch group) published an article that revealed a year-long investigation that meticulously lays out some extremely disturbing information about El Paso being a major smuggling route into the U.S. for Mexican drugs, illegal immigrants, and Islamic terrorists, along with being the headquarters of a sophisticated narco-terror ring operated by two of the FBI’s most wanted. I have taken the liberty of including Judicial Watch’s recent article and/or report in its entirety for effect, along with a link to said article and/or report:

“President Donald Trump’s El Paso visit is a great opportunity to point out that the west Texas city is a rats’ nest of law enforcement corruption, a major smuggling route into the U.S. for Mexican drugs, illegal immigrants, and Islamic terrorists and the headquarters of a sophisticated narco-terror ring operated by two of the FBI’s most wanted. While local officials promote it as one of America’s safest cities, Judicial Watch has exposed in a years-long investigation the disturbing reality gripping the municipality that sits along the Rio Grande across famously violent Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) says El Paso is a major hub for Mexican opioids and methamphetamine enroute to the rest of the United States. Just a few days ago U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released figures showing that the El Paso sector had an astounding 1,588% increase in illegal immigrant apprehensions during the first month of 2019 compared to the first month of 2018. Most are coming from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.

Drugs and Central Americans aren’t the only things being smuggled in through El Paso. Islamic terrorists are also making it into the U.S. with the help of Mexican drug cartels. Judicial Watch exposed an operation in which Mexican drug cartels smuggle foreigners from countries with terrorist links into a small rural town near El Paso by using remote farm roads—rather than interstates—to elude the Border Patrol and other law enforcement barriers. The foreigners are classified as Special Interest Aliens (SIA) and are transported to stash areas in Acala, a rural crossroads located around 54 miles from El Paso on a state road – Highway 20. Once in the U.S., the SIAs wait for pick-up in the area’s sand hills just across Highway 20.

Judicial Watch also broke a story about an ISIS training cell just a few miles from El Paso in an area known as “Anapra” situated just west of Ciudad Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Law enforcement and intelligence sources on both sides of the border confirm that cartel-backed “coyotes” help smuggle ISIS terrorists through the desert and into the U.S. between Acala and Fort Hancock, Texas. The areas are targeted for exploitation by ISIS because of their understaffed municipal and county police forces and the relative safe-havens the terrain provides for the unchecked large-scale drug smuggling. In the aftermath of Judicial Watch’s story about Islamic terrorists operating in Juárez, Beto O’Rourke, the former congressman that’s holding an anti-Trump rally during the president’s event at the El Paso County Coliseum, tried to silence federal law enforcement sources. O’Rourke, who represented El Paso in the House before a failed Senate bid, has long declared that Juárez is safe even as the notoriously violent region adjacent to his district is renowned for beheadings, gunfights, kidnappings and drug trafficking. Juárez is among the world’s most dangerous cities and the most dangerous place in the western hemisphere.

The problems in El Paso aren’t limited to the immediate border region. In 2014 Judicial Watch exposed a sophisticated narco-terror ring, operated by two of the FBI’s most wanted, with roots and financing in El Paso. Its ringleader is an ISIS operative named Emad Karakrah, who was recently released on parole in Illinois. Karakrah smuggled drugs and weapons for the renowned Juárez drug cartel in Mexico and was a logistics and transportation operative for militant Islamists in the United States. He moved people, weapons, explosives, drugs, money, and other materiel to terrorist cells operating in Chicago, Brooklyn, New York and Saddle Brook, New Jersey, among other locations across the U.S. Karakrah and his cohorts— including two of the FBI’s most wanted terrorists (Jaber A. Elbaneh and Adnan Gulshair el Shukrijumah)—operated from El Paso. Judicial Watch also produced an investigative documentary about the narco-terrorist cell.

El Paso is also known for corruption within the law enforcement ranks. The former deputy chief of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office (EPCSO), Jesus “Eddie” Campa, got criminally indicted for embezzling millions of dollars in Homeland Security funds. Campa served in the department as a jailer and officer for two decades. He left the agency following the indictment allegations, supposedly for embezzling $5.6 million in Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) funds, sources told Judicial Watch. His boss, Sheriff Richard Wiles, has also been embroiled in several scandals. Besides looking the other way as one of his trusted deputy chiefs embezzled millions of dollars, Wiles, serving his third term as sheriff, attended a fundraising event at the home of a convicted felon with connections to the illegal drug trade. El Paso County sheriff’s deputies have reported, in detail, to Judicial Watch how the sheriff’s office manipulates and phonies-up crime reporting statistics to minimize the true crime rate in the county.”

El Paso a Major Smuggling Route for Mexican Drugs, Illegal Aliens, Islamic Terrorists!-Posted on Judicial Watch-On February 10, 2019:

https://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2019/02/el-paso-a-major-smuggling-route-for-mexican-drugs-illegal-aliens-islamic-terrorists/

Judicial Watch also produced the following investigative documentary about the narco-terrorist cell:

Video: The Sun City Cell!-Posted on YouTube.com-By Judicial Watch-On January 6, 2017:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qn20j4cvlc

I am hereby respectfully asking that, after having some time to review and digest the extremely disturbing information revealed in the above recent articles and/or reports, along with the investigative documentary, you hopefully reconsider and reverse your action to remove the majority of our National Guard troops from our southern border as a means of ensuring the safety and security of our New Mexico residents.  

Looking forward to hearing from your office regarding this extremely concerning issue.

Please feel free to contact me at my email address.

Thank you again for your continued honorable service to our State and Country/Republic, not only as a former NM U.S. Representative, but now as our Governor.

God Bless you and your family.

Respectfully,

Jake L. Martinez  

End of Letter to NM Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham

After taking the time to read and digest the extremely disturbing information revealed in my letter to our Governor, I would very much appreciate your take on said information.

Looking forward to hearing from your office regarding this extremely concerning issue.

Please feel free to contact me at my email address.

Thank you for your continued honorable service to our State and Country/Republic, not only as our former NM U.S. Congressman, but now as our NM U.S. Senator.

God Bless you and your family.

Respectfully,

Jake L. Martinez  

Automatic Electronic Response From NM U.S. Senator Heinrich:

Thank You

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with me. Please follow me on Twitter and visit my Facebook page for updates on my daily activities in the Senate and travels across New Mexico.

End of Letter to NM U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich

I will make sure to provide you with NM U.S. Senator Heinrich’s response to my above letter, if and when I receive one.

Note: The disturbing information revealed in my above recent letter to our NM U.S. Senator relates to and/or further supports my following blogs:

Letter to NM Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (Re: Border Security)-Posted on Tea Party Command Center-By Jake Martinez-On February 14, 2019:

http://teapartyorg.ning.com/profiles/blogs/letter-to-our-nm-governor-michelle-lujan-grisham-re-borde

Letter to Our NM Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (Re: Newly Proposed Gun Control Measures)!-Posted on Tea Party Command Center-By Jake Martinez-On January 19, 2019:

http://teapartyorg.ning.com/profiles/blogs/letter-to-our-nm-governor-michelle-lujan-grisham-re-newly