In an in-depth interview for The Border Chronicle, Maria-Elena Giner reflects on her tenure since being ousted last week by the Trump administration as commissioner for one of the most critical federal agencies on the U.S.-Mexico border. The full conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
The International Boundary and Water Commission is a binational agency responsible for managing and enforcing treaties between the U.S. and Mexico that manage water sharing, infrastructure, pollution and other transboundary issues.
Last week, Maria-Elena Giner, the U.S. Commissioner for the IBWC abruptly posted a letter of resignation addressed to President Donald Trump. Giner told The Washington Post that the Trump administration had demanded her resignation that same day without reason.
Giner’s sudden departure came as a shock for many. In 2021, Giner was appointed to a severely underfunded agency with no long-term plan for investing in and maintaining vital infrastructure. In a few short years, Giner gained impressive momentum forging agreements with Mexico for water releases in Texas, and working on the creation of a binational wastewater treatment plant in California.
The first Latina to be appointed as U.S. commissioner, and a fronteriza from Ciudad Juárez/El Paso, Giner relied on deep cross-border community building to broker these binational agreements. Many of her major projects were coming to fruition when she was ousted by the current administration.
In this interview, Giner discusses the numerous infrastructure needs on the border. She also touches on binational water politics, and how the lower Rio Grande river basin, which was just designated as endangered, might be saved.
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