FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Michelle Dean

PHONE: 206-337-1464
EMAIL: info@rnha.org

July 2, 2010

RNHA National Chairman Continues Call for Border Security

Lakeland, FL - In response to the shootout that occurred yesterday close to the U.S./Mexico
border, Republican National Hispanic Assembly (RNHA) Chairman Alci Maldonado said,
"Violent acts like the one that occurred yesterday, 12 miles from the U.S./Mexico border, are
exactly why our federal government must act on securing our border before worrying about
anything else."

A gun battle between two drug and migrant trafficking gangs near the U.S. border left 21 people
dead and at least six others wounded near the city of Nogales, which is considered a prime
corridor for immigrant and drug smuggling into Arizona. Violence near the border has led to
calls from officials in the U.S. for greater control of the border. One U.S. official, Sen. Jon Kyl (R
– Arizona) has said "You don't have to have comprehensive reform to secure the border, but
you have to secure the border to get comprehensive reform."

According to recent news accounts, drug violence has killed more than 4,300 people in recent
years in Ciudad Juarez, which borders El Paso, Texas and more than 23,000 people have been
killed by drug violence since late 2006, when President Felipe Calderon began deploying
thousands of troops and federal police to drug hot spots. "The Mexican Government is failing to
deal with their own criminals who now are coming across the border to commit on American soil
against the American people the very same crimes these criminals have perpetrated against
Mexican citizens: drug trafficking, murder, rape, and theft. " said Chairman Maldonado. "It is
time that we stand and demand that our federal government do its job to secure our border and
to protect our fellow citizens. An unsecured border makes America unsafe!"

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The mission of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly is to build a membership organization to foster the principles of the
Republican Party in the Hispanic community; provide Hispanic Americans with a forum to play an influential role in local, state, and
national Party activities; increase the number of Hispanic Republican elected officials; and create and maintain a network of
Hispanic Republican leaders.

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