21 April 2003
Ridge to Meet With Secretary Santiago Creel of Mexico
(Will discuss progress from "Smart Border" accord) (540) Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge will travel to San Diego, California, on April 23 to meet with his Mexican counterpart, Secretary Santiago Creel, to discuss progress stemming from the "Smart Border" accord signed by Mexico and the United States in 2002. According to a press release issued April 21 by the Department of Homeland Security, the two secretaries will also hold meetings between the two delegations of their respective countries "to discuss further initiatives and identify the next steps" that Mexico and the United States can take to assure that the secure and efficient flow of people and commerce across the shared U.S.-Mexico border will continue amidst heightened security. Following is the text of the press release, with further details: (begin text) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 21, 2003 SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY TOM RIDGE TO TRAVEL TO CALIFORNIA FROM APRIL 23-25 TO MEET WITH SECRETARY SANTIAGO CREEL OF MEXICO AND TO VISIT STATE, LOCAL AND PRIVATE-SECTOR OFFICIALS ABOUT HOMELAND SECURITY IN CALIFORNIA Secretary Ridge will travel to San Diego, California, on Wednesday, April 23, to meet with his Mexican counterpart, Secretary Creel, to discuss progress from the "Smart Border" accord that was signed just over a year ago. In addition, the Secretaries will hold bilateral meetings between the two delegations to discuss further initiatives and identify the next steps that our countries can take to assure that the secure and efficient flow of people and commerce across our shared border continues amongst heightened security. Also, on Wednesday, Secretary Ridge will have a private meeting with the Mayor of San Diego, Dick Murphy, and hold a roundtable with Department of Homeland Security employees in the San Diego area. On Thursday, April 24, the Secretary Ridge and Secretary Creel will view how the accord is being implemented first-hand at the busiest border-crossing point in the world, San Ysidro, and also at the Otay Mesa border-crossing, a key commercial point between our two countries. After the visit, the Secretaries will hold a press conference. Following the press conference, Secretary Ridge will travel to Los Angeles, California, where he will hold private meetings with state and local officials including Governor Gray Davis and Congressman Chris Cox. Secretary Ridge will then make remarks to leaders and members of the state and local law enforcement, including Los Angeles County Sheriff Leroy Baca and members of the first responder community. Following his speech, Secretary Ridge and Congresswoman Jane Harman will participate in a tour and a briefing on operations at the Terrorism Early Warning Group in Los Angeles. On Friday, April 25, Secretary Ridge will make remarks and welcome new immigrants at a Naturalization ceremony to be held for approximately 4,000 at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. Following the ceremony, Secretary Ridge will participate in a press conference. Before leaving Los Angeles, Secretary Ridge will tour the Los Angeles International Airport with Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn to discuss security measures and view their implementation first-hand before returning to Washington, D.C., Friday night. (end text) (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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