Obama to visit Mexico to strategize on border violence

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President Barack Obama said Wednesday he will meet with President Felipe Calderón in Mexico next month to forge plans to combat drug-related violence along the border.

The meeting was announced as the Obama administration prepares to send more federal help to the border, and House lawmakers from Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California filed a $379 million bill to help crack down on drug smuggling and gun trafficking.

A White House spokesman said Obama and Calderón would discuss “how the United States and Mexico can work together to support Mexico's fight against the drug-related violence and work toward effective, comprehensive immigration reform.”

The trip will be preceded by a visit from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is scheduled to meet with Mexican officials in Monterrey and Mexico City next week.

Air Force Gen. Victor “Gene” Renuart, who heads the U.S. Northern Command, told Congress the military was moving forward with plans to train and equip their Mexican counterparts — partly under the terms of the $1.6 billion Merída Initiative that began last year.

Department of Homeland Security officials also testified this week that they were preparing to put greater focus and manpower on the border to help bolster Mexico's efforts against the cartels.

The Border Reinforcement and Violence Reduction Act filed by border-state Democrats would require Homeland Security to step up border security efforts, providing $300 million for local law enforcement agencies, $60 million to crack down on gun smuggling and $19 million to help train and equip Mexican personnel.

“It's critical that we keep our communities safe by ensuring that our borders are secure,” said Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-San Antonio.

Rodriguez took the bill to the White House for a meeting with Obama and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on Wednesday, when the president announced his April 16-17 visit to Mexico — his second foreign trip as president. He traveled to Canada in February.

Although Obama met with the Hispanic lawmakers to discuss immigration reform, they also pressed him to focus efforts on security measures to protect U.S. citizens from rising violence across the border.

U.S. border lawmakers have become increasingly alarmed by the level of violence, which often features gun battles with military-grade armament and grenades.

Rep. Harry Teague, D-N.M., said gun smugglers are “supplying the illegal weapons that are used in Mexico to commit violent crimes against law enforcement personnel and sometimes our own citizens.”

The bill would direct Homeland Security to coordinate a comprehensive and strategic plan for the inspection of vehicles heading into Mexico to crack down on gun trafficking.

Funds would be available for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to improve cooperation with Mexican law enforcement with additional agents, training and equipment.

Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, filed a bill last week that calls for $40 million over four years to create the Southern Border Security Task Force to help coordinate federal, state and local law enforcement efforts to thwart drug trafficking.

In addition, the economic stimulus bill included $10 million for the ATF to hire more than 30 agents to investigate and prosecute gun smugglers at the border. Border lawmakers from Texas and New Mexico filed a separate bill earlier this year seeking $30 million over two years to hire 80 ATF agents to stem gun trafficking.

Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, warned Obama against taking funds from immigration programs, such as workplace enforcement, to fight drug violence on the border. He said the administration has a $43 billion budget “to address border security without sacrificing work site enforcement.”

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, meanwhile, is sending a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano today urging her to come to Texas and view the unique problems along its southern border.

As governor of Arizona during the Bush administration, Napolitano backed using the National Guard to secure the border. She is also expected to travel to Mexico next month.