LAREDO, Texas – U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar has sent a letter to U.S. Senate leaders urging swift confirmation of Roberta Jacobson as U.S. Ambassador to Mexico.
Jacobson, nominated by President Obama, currently serves as the State Department’s Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs.
Cuellar, a Democrat from Laredo, sent his letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnel and Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid. The letter was co-signed by other border congressmen, such as Rubén Hinojosa, a Democrat from Mercedes, and Beto O’Rourke, a Democrat from El Paso. In total, 28 members of Congress signed the letter, Republicans and Democrats alike.
“As the representative for a region that shares a long border with Mexico, I understand the need to fill a gap in the ambassadorship to Mexico,” Cuellar said Monday. “I support President Barack Obama’s nomination of Roberta Jacobson as the next such ambassador. Ms. Jacobson has an impressive array of work experience dedicated to the Western Hemisphere and Mexico and speaks the language fluently.”
Cuellar said he has known Jacobson since she began work on the Merida Initiative, a program between the U.S., Mexico and countries of Central America to combat drug trafficking, transnational organized crime and money laundering. Cuellar said Jacobson ran the State Department’s Mexico office at the time and helped draft the plan.
“It is vital that we have a solid leader with a background such as hers as our nation’s ambassador to Mexico. The U.S. and Mexico share a 2,000-mile border, and the relations between our two nations have a drastic impact on millions on Americas. One million American citizens live in Mexico, and Mexico is the top tourist destination for Americans, with over 20 million visiting the country in 2013. Mexico is our nation’s second-largest export market and third-largest trading partner,” Cuellar said.
“In 2014 two-way trade in goods and services was more than $550 billion. That’s nearly $1.4 billion of two-way trade between our two nations every day. In addition to this, there are other important issues to solve for which an ambassador like Ms. Jacobson will be vitally important, such as finding approaches to combat transnational organized crime, enhance law enforcement cooperation and stem the flow of illicit money, drugs, people and arms across our borders.”
Cuellar added: “Ms. Jacobson currently serves as the State Department’s Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs and has served in this role admirably. She is a career civil service officer with extensive experience in Western Hemisphere and Mexican affairs, and she would make an excellent ambassador.”
Tony Garza, the former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, has also called for the swift confirmation of Jacobson as Ambassador to Mexico. In a recent op-ed, Garza wrote: “I’ve known Roberta for many years, and it would be hard to imagine someone more capable, committed, or qualified for the position. I know I relied on her sharp insights during my time as Ambassador, and I’m sure that Roberta will hit the ground running to strengthen one of the United States’ most important bilateral relationships. I’d urge the Senate to take her nomination up quickly and move this outstanding individual to confirmation.”
In June, 2014, Jacobson focused on U.S.-Mexico trade while speaking at the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute. Jacobson said that the U.S. sold more to Mexico than Brazil, Russia, and Israel combined, and that trade with Mexico promotes millions of jobs. She also stated that $1 million in trade crosses the border each minute, and that future generations of workers will need to be able to speak more than one language. The speech was recorded by C-Span. Click here to watch the video.
Here is Cuellar’s letter in full:
October 23, 2015
Dear Majority Leader McConnell and Democratic Leader Reid:
We write to you today to express our utmost support for the nomination of Roberta Jacobson to be the next U.S. Ambassador to Mexico. As you know, in June, President Obama nominated Ms. Jacobson to this vitally important post, one she is superbly suited for.
Ms. Jacobson currently serves as the State Department’s Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs and has served in this role admirably. She is a career civil service officer with extensive experience in Western Hemisphere and Mexican affairs. She also speaks fluent Spanish.
In addition to her current position as Assistant Secretary, Ms. Jacobson has an impressive array of work experience dedicated to the Western Hemisphere and Mexico. She previously served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs; senior coordinator for the Citizen Security initiatives in the Western Hemisphere; Deputy Assistant Secretary for Canada, Mexico and NAFTA issues; Director of the Office of Mexican Affairs; Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Lima, Peru; Director of the Office of Policy Planning and Coordination in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs; and previously served at the National Security Council. Her resume goes on and on expounding her remarkable credentials for this position. In addition to these important roles, she holds a Master’s of Arts in Law and Diplomacy and worked for the United Nations in the Center for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs.
It is vital that we have a solid leader with a background such as hers as our nation’s ambassador to Mexico. The U.S. and Mexico share a 2,000-mile border, and the relations between our two nations have a drastic impact on millions of Americans. One million American citizens live in Mexico and Mexico is the top tourist destination for Americans, with over 20 million visiting the country in 2013. Mexico is our nation’s second largest export market and third largest trading partner. In 2014 two-way trade in goods and services was more than $550 billion. That’s nearly $1.4 billion of two-way trade between our two nations every day. In addition to this, there are other important issues to solve for which an ambassador of Ms. Jacobson’s caliber will be vitally important such as finding approaches to combat transnational organized crime, enhance law enforcement cooperation, and stem the flow of illicit money, drugs, people and arms across our borders.
We ask that you do not delay in bringing up Ms. Jacobson’s nomination for consideration on the Senate floor. This is too important a position to allow a hold on the nomination and it deserves consideration before the whole Senate.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Henry Cuellar
Editor’s Note: Roberta Jacobson is pictured in the main image accompanying this story.
