MCALLEN, Texas - McAllen City Manager Isaac “Ike” Tawil says his city is making an aggressive push to attract more investment from Mexico.
Tawil spoke about foreign direct investment at a recent McAllen Citizens League luncheon.
“One of the things we're watching right now, very, very carefully is the political stability in Mexico. We’re watching that closely,” Tawil said, during his presentation.
"People in Mexico, because of the political stability in Mexico, are looking for places to invest their money. And what better place than a place like McAllen, where we have tremendous opportunity for growth. So, with what seems to be an unlimited supply of seed capital and an insatiable demand for growth and development, it’s a match in heaven.”
Tawil gave a shoutout to Daniella Plata for the work she is doing for the city in Mexico. Plata leads the city’s International Relations Department, with a heavy focus on Latin America. She was in the audience for the Citizens League event.
“We're in Mexico a lot. Daniela is in Mexico a lot. Thankfully, I don't have to be in Mexico because she goes to Mexico. There's a reason for that. She is there, promoting McAllen. promoting McAllen as a destination, promoting McAllen is a place to do business,” Tawil said.
“So, Daniella is down there, spreading the partnerships, working on collaborations, putting together programming with industrial developers, with the retail community, with university systems, so that our friends, our family in Mexico, have a place they can come invest.”
A bonus with Mexican investors coming to McAllen, Tawil said, is that they bring their friends and family.
“It's a self-fulfilling prophecy like none I have ever seen. So, tremendous work, Daniella. I'm so proud of what we're doing in that program.”
In the Q&A session that followed Tawil’s presentation, the Rio Grande Guardian asked if the City of McAllen tracks the amount of investment coming in from Mexico. Tawil responded:
“I don't have that knowledge. What I can tell you is from the experts that we've met with in Mexico… it (the inward investment) is due to the political instability in the country. There is increased interest in investment in the United States, generally.”
Tawil continued: “With our connections in Monterrey, Mexico City, San Luis Potosí, all the places that Daniella has visited recently… as we meet with the business community there, they are looking for opportunity to either invest in McAllen or bring their businesses to McAllen. In terms of the specific dollars. I don't have that yet.
“What I can tell you is, right now, under the federal program, EB-5, for every $800,000 investment, you've got to create ten U.S. jobs. And so, as we look at projects that kind of scope (is in play).”
EB-5 is a program that allows foreign investors to become permanent residents of the United States.
Earlier, Tawil had been asked by a member of the audience about the status of the City of McAllen’s EB-5 program.
“I’m so glad you asked that question because in my notes, I was going to talk about EB-5 opportunity. With us today we also have Rebecca Olaguibel, who is one of your (McAllen Citizens League) new members. Rebecca and I, for the last, I would say, six weeks, two months, have been working on that program, exactly.”
Olaguibel is director of retail and business development for the City of McAllen.
“The McAllen EB-5 Regional Center is not an entity that we allowed to dissolve. It is still intact, and Rebecca has been working on that program. So, we are looking forward to, in the next several months, having direct investment opportunities available through that regional center, both for EB-5 and E-2. EB-5 being the pathway to citizenship. E-2 being just investment.”
In his presentation, Tawil also spoke about the work of the McAllen Economic Development Corporation.
“Economic development: with the investment we've made in the McAllen Economic Development Corporation, that corporation continues to be active. They've got some exciting… we were über close last session to landing a $1 billion industry here in McAllen. That is back on the table this year. MEDC is working very hard on that, and so we will continue to pursue next level industrial development in McAllen,” Tawil said.
“What does that mean? That means we're focused on making sure that we have the infrastructure and that we're infrastructure-ready to attract those projects. We are investing in our sanitary sewer system. We are investing in our water system.”
Expanding on McAllen’s water system, Tawil praised former McAllen Mayor Jim Darling for his consistent focus on water availability. Darling was in the audience.
“Let's talk about water for a second. That is something Jim… I know you're out there pounding the pavement, talking about it every day. But it is something we look at every day at City Hall and making sure that we have secured resources and systems to ensure that we have the water demand that industry is going to require when it comes. And it will come.”
