EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – The mayors of El Paso, Juarez and Las Cruces, are showing unity even as U.S. tariffs on Mexico, heightened immigration scrutiny, and a border bridge controversy weigh heavily on the region.
Cruz Perez Cuellar of Juarez, Renard Johnson of El Paso and Eric Enriquez of Las Cruces, New Mexico met Tuesday evening in El Paso to discuss commerce and other issues in a binational metropolitan area that includes 2.7 million residents and is a major trade corridor into the United States.
More than $140 billion in trade passes through the region’s ports of entry every year and supports 300,000 jobs in Juarez and thousands more in El Paso.
“We are already working together, we are developing friendships, and I look forward to furthering the dialogue today about the border,” Johnson said at the gathering organized by Progress321 of El Paso.
The other mayors relayed a similar message.
“It’s working together, it’s building the unity in our region, but it has to start somewhere, and it starts with building the relationship: Getting to know each other, see what our needs are, see how we can help each other so we can continue to thrive in this area,” added Enriquez.
The mayors talked about changing the national narrative about the region – which sometimes is portrayed as a war zone because of illegal immigration and drug trafficking. Last fall, that narrative took off again as then-presidential candidate Donald Trump made border security a cornerstone of his campaign.
“El Paso and this region is a very warm region, it’s a very safe region and it’s a place that we want people to come and visit. So, we need to make sure dispel the national narrative about our community that are not true,” Johnson said.
Local leaders try to navigate challenges
El Paso residents living near one of the ports of entry have waged a years-long battle to get commercial trucks to stop spewing fumes and adding unwanted noise and traffic to their neighborhood.
Last week, they won the battle when the General Services Administration announced it plans to close the Bridge of the Americas to commercial trucks coming over from Mexico.
But for Juarez, that means scrambling to re-direct truck traffic from factories a few miles from the port of entry through urban traffic to other ports of entry.
“Now that we are certain (of the truck ban), we are going to come up with a plan. We will be soliciting resources for two avenues to connect with the Santa Teresa (New Mexico) border crossing and the Tornillo crossing. If we get the funds, I think we’ll be able to solve the problem,” Perez Cuellar said.
Mexican industry leaders and transportation executives have condemned the planned truck ban, saying the manufacturing industry depends on swift border crossings so parts and merchandise assembled in Mexico can reach U.S. factories in a timely manner.
The new blow comes as border industry continues to scramble to understand and adjust to President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Mexican products outside the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, auto parts, steel and aluminum.
Also, a new U.S. policy announced last month to require Mexican truckers to speak English if they drive on American soil is also bringing stress south of the border.
“It’s the law in the U.S., there’s not anything that we can do about it,” Perez Cuellar said. “Independently of what is happening at the national level, in Washington (D.C.) or in Mexico City, we need to send a message that we are working together. That is more important now than ever.”
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