Universal Safety & Security Solutions, LLC Provide Security Consulting for Pope’s Visit to Juarez, Mexico

In conjunction with JHL Company (Event Planners), Universal Safety and Security Solutions provided security consulting services to the Catholic Diocese of El Paso, Texas, for events associated with the Pope’s visit to Juarez, Mexico on February 17, 2016.

The Pope’s visit to Juarez involved two events held on the border between Mexico and the United States. The first event was a brief prayer ceremony held by Pope Francis in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, which is bordered by the city of El Paso, Texas on the U.S. side of the international boundary.  Although the pontiff would not be visiting the United States, many attendees were present on the U.S. city’s side of the Juarez-El Paso border.    The border fence referred to as the levee site, was visited primarily by refugees who have sought sanctuary in the United States from Mexico and other Latin American countries.  The second event was an outdoor Mass attended by hundreds of thousands at the Sun Bowl Stadium also held on the Juarez, Mexico side of the border.

Universal personnel worked with the El Paso Diocese as well as local and federal law enforcement regarding security planning for events taking place on the U.S. side of the border. This included security assessment and planning for the televised event held in the Sun Bowl Stadium of the University of Texas, El Paso (UTEP).  Approximately 35,000 persons attended this event which involved live broadcasts of the Pope’s motorcade through Juarez, the prayer ceremony at the border fence, and the outdoor Mass. Security for the Sun Bowl event was largely conducted by the UTEP Police Department assisted by the El Paso PD. Security for the prayer ceremony on the levee at the U.S./Mexico border was coordinated by the U.S. Secret Service with assistance from the U.S. Border Patrol and the El Paso PD.

During the event planning stages, Universal conducted feasibility studies of four proposed events in El Paso to celebrate the Pope’s visit which resulted in the final adoption of the Sun Bowl and the levee prayer events.