Tucson lawmaker says ports of entry are critical to border security and economy
WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 10 congressional colleagues are asking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to include $5 billion in the next economic stimulus package for much-needed improvements to land ports of entry on America's southern and northern borders.
"Arizona's land ports of entry are on the front lines of border security," said Giffords. "These facilities need to be as up-to-date as possible. They need to be shining examples of how strong border security and commerce can coexist."
In a recent letter to the Speaker, Giffords and her colleagues write that Canada and Mexico are our nation's first and second largest trading partners, with 88 percent of that trade moving by land. As a result, the lawmakers say that "the condition of our land ports of entry is critical."
"With the current downturn in our economy, our nation's businesses cannot afford delays at our borders," the lawmakers wrote. "International trade and commerce are vital elements to bolstering our economy, and for this reason we must address infrastructural problems at our land ports of entry."
Improving America's land ports of entry also will help strengthen border security. Ports in Arizona play a key role in controlling illegal drug trafficking, as indicated by a recently released report from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The agency seized a record 291 pounds of heroin at the state's six land ports in fiscal year 2008, a 200 percent increase from 2007.
The negative impact of port infrastructure problems was recently discussed at the Douglas Economic and Trade Forum at Cochise College in Douglas, Arizona. Victor Gonzales, the city's economic development director, told nearly 100 business leaders from Southern Arizona and Mexico that the Douglas port of entry is "broken" and unable to accommodate the high level of traffic.
"The infrastructure is the vital component to this movement," Gonzales said, according to a November 11 story in The (Douglas) Daily Dispatch. "Lack of infrastructure prohibits growth in the business community."
The newspaper also quoted Bill Thomas, a Douglas furniture store owner who said long delays at the Douglas port of entry often cause potential customers to turn away. "It takes these people anywhere from 30 minutes to and hour and a half or two hours to drive across and they're just not going to do it," Thomas said. "They get so frustrated just sitting in that line."
The Douglas port of entry was built in the 1930s and renovated more than a decade ago. A new port of entry is planned but is not scheduled to be completed in the near future. It would triple capacity of the current port, allowing 1,500 commercial trucks to pass through daily. A major obstacle to the new facility is lack of funding.
In the lawmakers' letter to the Speaker, they write that 11.3 million cargo trucks and trains pass through America's southern and northern ports of entry each year. But they cite a federal government estimate that the ports are plagued with $5 billion in deficiencies that would take close to 40 years to address.
"Inland port of entry construction, rehabilitation and modernization can play a significant role in lifting and sustaining our nation's economy and creating jobs," the lawmakers" wrote.
Also signing the letter were U.S. Reps. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, Henry Cuellar of Texas, Ciro Rodriguez of Texas, Solomon Ortiz of Texas, Bob Filner of California, Silvestre Reyes of Texas, Ruben Hinojosa of Texas, Bart Stupak of Michigan, John M. McHugh of New York, and Steve Kagan of Wisconsin.