A New Vision for the Border Senator Eliot Shapleigh 800 Wyoming, Suite A El Paso, Texas 79902 (915) 544-1990
Texas has the 2nd busiest land port and 6 of the top busiest ports on the U.S.-Mexico border FY 2006 National Rank Land Port Locations SENTRI # Lanes 1 San Ysidro, CA 4 31,741,363 2 El Paso, TX 5 28,608,705 3 Brownsville, TX 1 14,171,099 4 Laredo, TX 1 14,107,583 6 Hidalgo, TX 1 12,953,555 7 Otay Mesa, CA 1 11,447,926 8 Calexico, CA 1 11,262,530 10 Nogales, AZ 12 8,650,524 11 Eagle Pass, TX - 8,517,673 12 Calexico East, TX - 7,801,534 Passengers in Personally Owned Vehicles FY 2006 Totals Top Ten Busiest Border Crossings at the Mexico-U.S. Ports of Entry
Bridge waits frustrate Source: El Paso Times October 2,, 2007
Border Region Manufacturing can compete with China
Anger over border backups boils over at U.S.-Mexico conference "We have the biggest parking lots in the world" SONORA, Mexico (AP), September 28 - Massive traffic jams at the U.S.-Mexico border have Mexican governors in the region demanding that Washington address U.S. security concerns without creating border bottlenecks. The demands arose at the annual U.S.-Mexico border governor s conference at this resort on the Gulf of California, where U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff was expected to discuss increased border fencing and stepped up security Friday. "We have the biggest parking lots in the world," said Baja California Gov. Eugenio Elorduy, referring to hours-long waits to cross the border. "We have to look at this as a crisis. Unfortunately, we are not getting any response from the U.S. government." Eduardo Bours, governor of the border state of Sonora, called for more border crossings because those that exist between Arizona and Sonora are saturated. "There are lines of three, four and five hours, and so we have to invest much more in border crossings," he said. Anger on the Texas side of the border over congestion at border ports of entry was expressed earlier this week at a conference of the Border Trade Alliance in Austin. At the conference, Monica Weisberg-Stewart, a McAllen businesswoman and co-chair of the Texas Border Coalition s immigration committee, clashed with Jayson P. Ahern, deputy commissioner for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). During a question and answer session, Weisberg-Stewart told Ahern it was absurd for CBP start checking driver s licenses and birth certificates for U.S. citizens entering the country from Mexico when the information was not tamperproof and customs officials had to manually enter information into computers. Ahern responded that the federal government had needed to put its security emphasis on locations between the ports of entry rather than at the ports of entry. It will shift back, Ahern said. Ahern said the CBP routinely checks the time it takes to process paperwork at the ports of entry and the current average is 45 seconds. If the wait times are one and half hours then that is a capacity issue, Ahern said. Some members of the audience rolled their eyes in disbelief when Ahern made the 45 seconds remark. Guardian reporter Steve Taylor contributed to this story. Sonora Governor Eduardo Bours "There are lines of three, four and five hours, and so we have to invest much more in border crossings"
Crafting a Vision for 2020 Fully staff existing ports Build more Ports/Bridges Model Border Ports Enhanced Driver's License 21 st Century Technology Pilots
Model Border Ports Invest in a "One-Stop Border Inspection Facility Mexico is by far Texas largest trading partner. Exceeds trade with the European Union combined. 38.6% percent of Texas exports go to Chihuahua. Approximately 80 percent of all overland U.S. trade with Mexico passes through Texas' ports of entry. The cities of Laredo, Brownsville and El Paso have experienced a dramatic increase in commercial vehicle traffic since the passage of NAFTA. In response, we passed S.B. 913 in the 76th legislature. The bill requires TxDOT to work with the federal government to reduce duplication of functions and expedite the movement of goods by building and maintaining "one-stop" border inspection facilities in Brownsville, Laredo, and El Paso. The goal is to cross product in 10 minutes, not 6 hours.
Model Border Ports Invest in a "One-Stop Border Inspection Facility Vehicle safety Exit Return Exit Return Visual safety inspection, transponder Exit Secondary Bypass Driver Primary U.S.A. MEXICO Weight
Model Border Ports Harmonize ports-of-entry operations on both sides of the border Improve port management standards - existing or new prescreening programs should be considered to allow federal and state governments' to have advance knowledge of the people, freight, and vehicles crossing our borders Develop common biometric identifiers such as permanent resident cards, NEXUS, and other travel documents to ensure greater security
21 st Century Technology FHWA Pilot Project in El Paso County Proprietary Information Internal Use Only 7380 Remcon Circle, Suite A El Paso, Texas 79912-1 - 2000-2004 Copyright Holguin Group All rights reserved
Secure Manufacturing Zones Shortened Supply Lines Increased Strategic relationships between the United States and Mexico Use tax incentives and infrastructure investment to induce manufacturers to utilize and expand maquiladora industrial base
Enhanced Driver s License (EDL) Requirements Denotes identity and citizenship. Includes facilitative technology that helps DHS to validate the card and facilitate travel. Provides standard processing and method of validation for CBP Officers. Will be designated by DHS to be used as a travel document that allows entry into the United States at the Mexican and Canadian borders. Issued to U.S. citizens by their state. DHS is meeting with each state to develop satisfactory requirements that best meet the needs of the state.
Thank You! Senator Eliot Shapleigh