The Tribune interviews U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Alan Bersin.
border
Alan Bersin: The TT Interview
The commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection on why he believes the Texas-Mexico border is secure, why deportations of criminals have reached unprecedented levels, why trade between the U.S. and Mexico still thrives and what motivates most undocumented immigrants to enter this country illegally.
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Stiles on Bill White’s donor-appointees, M. Smith on a form of meritless lawsuit that’s still legal in Texas, Ramshaw on what federal health care reform means for the future of physician-owned specialty hospitals, Galbraith’s interview with the chairman of the Public Utility Commission, Philpott on the latest flap over federal education funding, Grissom on the finally-in-compliance Dallas County Jail, Titus on the oiled pelicans of the BP spill, Hamilton’s interview with the new chancellor of the Texas State University System, Ramsey on the political and legal definitions of residency, Hu on Barack Obama’s visit to Austin and Aguilar on what the U.S. could be doing to aid Mexico: The best of our best from August 9 to 13, 2010.
TribBlog: Legalize It? You Must Be High
Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske laid out the case against legalizing marijuana and other drugs today at a border security conference.
Alone Together
Gov. Rick Perry and his Democratic challenger, Bill White, appeared on the same stage in Austin on Thursday. But anyone itching for a debate between the two was disappointed. The candidates were separated on the schedule by other speakers and were never even in the room at the same time. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune filed this report.
TribBlog: Ambassador to Mexico Talks Border Security, Trade
U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Carlos Pascual kicked off the 2010 Border Security Conference in El Paso with a recap of the violence to date, and his explanation of why the border will survive.
TribBlog: Border Residents Feel Safe, Poll Finds
A large majority of the residents of Texas cities on the U.S.-Mexico border feel relatively safe despite harsh rhetoric from lawmakers and a consistent media portrayal of their communities as war zones, according to a poll released today.
Perry to Obama: Send More Border Troops
As President Barack Obama delivered his speech on higher education and economics, Governor Rick Perry gave his own remarks on what he thinks needs to be done for Texas border security. KUT’s Erika Aguilar reports.
Obamarama
In his first trip to the Texas capital as president, Barack Obama served up little news but plenty of red meat for supporters. Check out our pool report from his fundraiser and our audio, video and slideshow of his UT-Austin speech.
TribBlog: Perry Talks Obama, Border Issues
After a brief tarmac meeting with President Barack Obama, Gov. Rick Perry returned to bashing the administration over border security.

