U.S. Border Security Conference Continues Today

U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes on Monday kicked off the 2011 U.S. Border Conference, which focuses on tightening up the border and fighting to increase the number of Customs and Border Protection agents

The conference continues today at the University of Texas at El Paso.

Speakers like Reyes honed in on cracking down on crime in Juarez from a policy perspective. The leader of a youth group in Juarez has a different approach.

Aleysha Serrato, the project coordinator for Project “A Ganar” or “To Win,” said the most effective way to prevent crime across the border is to reach out to troubled youth.

“They have a difficult life,” Serrato said. “And all the youth in Ciudad Juarez has this risk. They always have risk. The program gives them the opportunity to do other things.”

The explosion of violence over the past few years in Juarez is leaving a staggering number of children without parents and at risk. A United Press International study earlier this year revealed the violence-plagued border city will be home to an expected 8,500 orphans by the end of the year.