Texas officials rebuffed President Barack Obama’s claim that the U.S.-Mexico border is secure and told a congressional panel Wednesday that cartel-related crimes in this country are under-reported.

Steve McCraw, Texas Department of Public Safety director, said 22 murders, 24 assaults, 15 shootings and five kidnappings in Texas were linked to Mexican cartels since 2010.

“There are consequences when you don’t secure the border,” McCraw told the subcommittee. “There has been a proliferation of organized crime in Texas.”

“The border is not secure, and it has never been more violent or dangerous. Anyone who lives down there will tell you that,” said Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Austin, the subcommittee chairman.

Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez said the U.S.-Mexico border in rural South Texas is a porous gateway for drugs and weapons flowing both ways – with cartels in control on both sides of the border.

“We have seen armed individuals coming into our country,” Gonzalez said. “We have seen the very ruthless behavior of the cartels.”

http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2011/05/texas-officials-dispute-obamas-claims.html