JUAREZ REFUGEES: VIOLENCE DRIVES RESIDENTS ACROSS BORDER

It's not surprising that Juarez residents would want to leave their
violence-wracked city and seek safety in El Paso. However, the numbers
might surprise some folks.

Recently, in an online chat with readers of elpasotimes.com,
South-West city Rep. Beto O'Rourke said, "The estimate from our chief
of police, Greg Allen, is that in the last two years, over 30,000
Mexican nationals have moved to El Paso to flee the violence.

"There is obviously going to be pressure and discomfort involved, as
well as some immediate economic and cultural enrichment."

Thirty-thousand! That's the approximate number of troops being sent to
Fort Bliss as a result of the Base Realignment and Closure process.
It's a huge number, roughly 5 percent of El Paso's population.

Most of us cannot even imagine what it must be like to live daily,
hourly, with such violence. The drug cartel-generated violence doesn't
discriminate when it comes to victims, and children along with adults
have been cut down by gunfire.

If the violence continues and grows in Juarez -- and there's no reason
to think it won't -- El Paso will be facing an even greater influx of
refugees.

Nothing seems to be working as Mexican federal, state and local
officials struggle to find ways to stop the violence. Whether it's
lack of ability to stop the killing, or lack of will, the result is
the same -- escalating violence.

As Allen said, the El Paso Police Department must be prepared for
spillover.

El Paso police are already doing a superior job of law enforcement, as
indicated by the city's designation as the second-safest big city in
the country -- and that comes as only a border divides us from what is
often termed the most violent city in the world.

It's to be hoped that the feds also are prepared for escalating
violence and increasing numbers of refugees in the El Paso area and in
other areas, if the violence spreads. Federal officials are fond of
saying they're prepared for what might happen along the border.

Let's hope that they really are ahead of the game and are not simply
patronizing El Pasoans and other border residents.