Dear Editor,

Attached is a letter in response to Ruben Navarrette Jr.'s column in
the Sunday, February 22 issue of the Union Tribune.

My name is Julia Collins.  I am a resident of Encinitas and have lived in San Diego since January 1980.  I work as a Human Resources Consultant in the states, and make weekly trips to Rosarito to work with an orphanage there.My career has often taken me to Mexico in both urban and remote rural areas of the country.

I hope that you will consider publishing my letter, which I understand is longer than recommended.  I believe there are alternative solutions to addressing the border issues, and that these solutions are not being considered.  Rather than issuing travel advisories, closing Friendship Park, and sensationalizing the drug-cartel issues along our border towns, Americans can reduce illegal immigration simply by supporting change efforts in Mexico, continuing to visit the towns that are safe, and appropriately investing in the local economy.  If we don't do that, the challenges we face and the relationship with our neighbor will only
worsen.

I work with the orphanage in Rosarito partially because I believe if we support the high risk children there, and provide appropriate education and guidance, they are less likely to leave their country in search of work in ours.  There are humane, respectful means of dealing with these issues that would ensure a win-win situation for both sides.

If you (or anyone else at the Tribune) are interested in hearing more about alternative, peaceful ways of taking the offensive position with the goal of long-term resolution of long-time issues along our borders, I would be happy to talk to you about these.

Letter to the San Diego Union Tribune

The current situation along the border is grave.  That's a given. As Ruben
Navarette Jr. described in his Sunday, February 22 column, the tendency of
each side to blame our neighbors is not the answer.  The media's coverage of
drug cartel violence in Mexico has created a perception of rampant crime
against US citizens.  I would argue that this image is not the reality of
life in Rosarito.

In fact, if you were to speak to the 16,000 foreign residents living within
Rosarito city, they would likely say that they feel safer there now than at
any other time during their residency.  The recent changes made by the local
government under the leadership of Hugo Torres have positively affected
their lives and promoted a feeling of greater security. Most would agree
that Hugo Torres has responded in a comprehensive way to long-term American
concerns, yet fewer Americans than ever are visiting Rosarito.

Americans have for years protested that there is corruption in the Mexican
police department.  Hugo Torres and his team have addressed this issue by
firing 50% of the police force because they were found to have been
participating in extortion or drug-related activities.  He implemented the
use of a bilingual ticket so those stopped for traffic violations would know
exactly how much they need to pay, and established a U.S. address for
mail-in payment of tickets.  He responded to American communication
challenges by hiring a bi-lingual Tourist Police force trained in the United
States.  He replaced 100% of the District Attorney staff to ensure that all
crimes are investigated and perpetrators are detained.  He established a 24
hour/365 day Tourist Attention Department within the Tourism Department so
Americans can make complaints, in English, against police officers or other
public servants and report fraudulent conduct at hotels restaurants or other
establishments.  He increased security allocations from 5% to 20% of the
city's budget.

Despite these efforts, virtually no one is visiting Rosarito. We asked
Mexico to address our myriad concerns, and when they did, we were not
willing to support the changes because of the resultant consequences.  One
of these consequences is the increased drug cartel violence associated with
Mexico's efforts to incarcerate the Arrellano-Felix gang.  The imprisonment
of Arrellano-Felix leaders resulted in a war for this now vacant turf by the
two other major drug cartels, many of whom are being killed off by one
another. Most of these highly publicized killings occur in areas that
tourists will never visit, though news reports make it sound as if one would
find decapitated bodies strewn along the streets of downtown Rosarito.  I am
certain that if national media focused on the 112,036 arrests, 55 murders,
376 rapes, 1,273 armed robberies, 3,597 aggravated assaults, 4,864
residential burglaries and 10,677 vehicle thefts in San Diego during 2008
rather than our wonderful shoreline, world-class restaurants and
attractions, tourism in our fine city would also drastically decline.

So what's the solution?  Rather than promoting fear and concentrating on
blame, let's work together to make Rosarito's efforts work.  Let's reward
Rosarito's leadership for their steadfastness in and dedication to making
its city a safe destination for U.S. tourists by visiting this beautiful
seaside community so the tourism industry there begins to thrive again, the
local businesses remain going concerns, and other border cities see the
benefit of modeling these programs.  Like it or not, our cities are
interdependent.  If tourism remains at its current levels, Rosarito will not
be able to continue to finance its security efforts, other border cities
will not respond similarly, illegal immigration to the U.S. will increase,
and relations with our Mexican neighbors will continue to be strained.

Julia Collins
Encinitas, Ca