Contact: E. Elizabeth Garcia: 956/459-3205
"Invest in Families,
Not in Walls"
PRESS RELEASE
Who: Rio Grande Valley--RGV Network
What: Announcement:
"Invest in Families, Not in Walls" Campaign
Where: La Union del Pueblo Entero (LUPE) Corner of Cesar Chavez and Business Hwy 83.
When: Thursday November 8, 2007 at 10:00 a.m.
"Invest in Families, Not in Walls", is a campaign co-sponsor by a coalition of non-profit family advocacy organizations. This is a petition drive campaign to build a constituency of register voters to sign a petition against the border wall. The 'Invest in Families, Not in Walls" Campaign will kick-off with a press conference this Thursday November 8, 2007, at 10:00am at the LUPE headquarters, located at the corner of Cesar Chavez and Business Hwy. 83, San Juan, TX.
San Juan, TX, November 6, 2007: The RGV Network opposes spending our tax dollars on an ineffective border wall. Estimates for the construction of approximately 700 miles of reinforced fencing along sections of the U.S.-Mexico border are about $6 billion to $7. Congress has already approved a down payment of $1.2 billion. We don't believe this investment will ever deliver a measurable or positive return. Even the Department of Homeland Security has said the wall will only slow down, not stop, illegal border crossing.
We believe that money intended for the Border Wall should be invested in our families. With a $1.2 billion dollar investment in health care, housing education, job training, and infrastructure improvement we could actually see a tangible return. If we invest in our children's health today we will be saving billions of dollars on treatment for preventable maladies such as diabetes and childhood obesity. If we invest just a fraction of the $1.2 billion, a mere $125 million, on the rehabilitation of our structurally deficient levees we could avoid a potential Katrina like flood that will cause billions of dollars in property damage and several more billions of dollars in lost agriculture and production.
The RGV Network, serving families throughout the Rio Grande Valley ask all those who believe that our elected officials should invest in our families to join us in our petition drive. We will be campaigning from November 8 th, 2007 through March 8th, 2008. We ask that all interested parties please contact the number above if you would like to endorse the petition.
Thanks to:
E. Elizabeth Garcia
achcauhtli06@gmail.com
