During the two-hour "U.S. Border Threats Briefing" panel discussion, Gonzales and two other border-area officers described what they deal with on a daily basis and how the chaos on the border affects every law enforcement officer in America. "We are at war," panel moderator Richard Valdemar said.
Valdemar, one of the nation's foremost authorities on criminal gangs, said that he believes there is the potential for an alliance of cartels, gangs, and Islamist terrorists that could cause great damage to the United States. He also pointed out that while many American policymakers are worried that the violence on the border might cross over into the U.S., they can't or won't acknowledge what's already happening.
"Spill over border violence has been happening a long time," Valdemar said. "Some 90 percent of outstanding warrants for murder in Los Angeles County are for illegal aliens."
Panel member Joe Preciado is one of the officers charged with stemming the flow of illegal aliens across the border. A Border Patrol intelligence officer in Yuma, Ariz., Preciado said it is not uncommon for officers in his sector to be attacked across the border with rocks and even bullets.
Sheriff Arvin West of Hudspeth County, Texas, told the audience that it can be hard for people who live outside of the border zone to understand the challenges faced by border officers. "We have 98 miles of border in Hudspeth County and 17 officers to cover the whole county," he explained.