Tribpedia: Steve Mccraw

Tribpedia

Steve McCraw is the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety. Before taking the top DPS post in July of 2009, McCraw served as Gov. Rick Perry's chief of homeland security for almost five years.

McCraw clashed with Perry over the installation of X-ray machines and metal detectors at the Capitol after a gunman fired shots on the ...

Read More...

DPS Again Warns Texans Against Going to Mexico

Thousands of motorists wait in line on the southernmost stretch of IH-35 in Laredo, Texas. Despite a global recession and escalating violence in Mexico thousands of "paisanos" still made the trek south for Christmas. As the hours passed, however, their concerns about traveling Mexico's highways at night grew. A recent prison break in Nuevo Laredo didn't help soothe their fears about bandits lurking on the roadways. "We might have to get a hotel here," said one traveler.
Enlarge photo by: Julian Aguilar
Thousands of motorists wait in line on the southernmost stretch of IH-35 in Laredo, Texas. Despite a global recession and escalating violence in Mexico thousands of "paisanos" still made the trek south for Christmas. As the hours passed, however, their concerns about traveling Mexico's highways at night grew. A recent prison break in Nuevo Laredo didn't help soothe their fears about bandits lurking on the roadways. "We might have to get a hotel here," said one traveler.

In case you were planning any trips to violence-ridden Mexico, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety says don't — again.

Security camera towers loom over the Rio Grande River.
Enlarge credit: Bob Daemmrich
Security camera towers loom over the Rio Grande River.

DPS Plans to Use Stimulus for Border Security

The Department of Public Safety, which is struggling financially, is planning to use $16 million of the federal stimulus dollars that Gov. Rick Perry begrudgingly accepted to plug a hole in the border security budget. The decision follows a mandate by Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, and House Speaker Joe Straus that state agencies cut 5 percent out of their budgets to meet an anticipated shortfall.