Andrea Bazán named to Homeland Security Southwest Border Task Force

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Andrea Bazán
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June 04, 2009

For Immediate Release
For more information, contact: Office of the Press Secretary: 202-282-8010

Andrea Bazán named to Homeland Security Southwest Border Task Force
President of Triangle Community Foundation also serves as Board Chair for La Raza

Durham, N.C. (June 4, 2009) –Andrea Bazán, president of the Triangle Community Foundation and Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), has been named to the Department of Homeland Security’s Southwest Border Taskforce. The taskforce, together with a Homeland Security Advisory Council, will crack down on illegal activities that fuel the drug war in Mexico.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced at the White House last month a major set of Southwest border initiatives designed to support Mexico’s campaign against violent drug cartels by limiting the flow of firearms and cash from the United States to Mexico. These initiatives bring more personnel to the Southwest border and place additional technology at strategic locations.

The mission of the Southwest Border Task Force will be to:

Guard against violent crime spillover into the United States

Support Mexico’s crackdown campaign against drug cartels in Mexico

Reduce movement of contraband in both directions across the border.

Improve immigration services and enforce immigration laws.

The Southwest Border Task Force is chaired by William Webster, retired partner at Milibank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy and James Jones, Chairman & CEO at Manatt Jones Global Strategies.

The complete list of committee members is:
John Cook, Mayor, City of El Paso
Raymond Cobo, Sheriff, Luna County
Ned Norris, Chairman, Tohono O’odham Nation
Ralph Ogden, Sheriff, Yuma County
Jerry Sanders, Mayor, City of San Diego
Rob Ross, President, The California Endowment
Andrea Bazan, President, Triangle Community Foundation and Chair of the National Council of La Raza

Bazán has served on the Board of Directors of NCLR, the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights organization which is based in Washington DC, since 2002. She served as the first Executive Director for El Pueblo, an advocacy and public policy organization in North Carolina. In addition, she was the first Latina lobbyist at the NC General Assembly for several years and also lobbied at the federal level. Triangle Community Foundation, where Bazán has been president since October 2005, plays an active role in the region, and is involved in issues of state and national relevance.
The first meeting of the Southwest Border Task Force is June 4th in Albuquerque, NM, at the Sandia Laboratories.
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