RIO GRANDE CITY, Texas - Starr County leaders say they want to reopen their international bridges to Mexican shoppers and tourists but, with COVID-19 still a threat, will do so with an abundance of caution.
Five of the leaders participated in a news conference with Congressman Henry Cuellar on Tuesday to discuss the possibility of the international travel ban being lifted later this month.
The five were Starr County Judge Eloy Vera, Rio Grande City Mayor Joel Villarreal, Escobares Mayor Noel Escobar, Starr County Industrial Foundation President Rose Benavidez, and Starr County Industrial Foundation Chairman Sam Vale.
Vale is also president of the Starr-Camargo Bridge Company, which owns the Starr-Camargo Bridge in Rio Grande City.
Before holding the news conference, Cuellar and the five leaders met privately with local Customs and Border Protection officials. Cuellar said another meeting could be held this Friday.
Working with CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan, Cuellar has devised a plan whereby health screenings could take place at land ports of entry for those crossing into the United States from Mexico or Canada. The screenings could be done by CBP staff and the local authority that owns the land port. Cuellar said local control is paramount. If a city or county that has a land port does not want to reopen to “non-essential” traffic they would not have to.
Land ports of entry have been closed to “non-essential” traffic, both vehicular and pedestrian, since late March in order to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Cuellar said the City of Laredo is in advanced talks to reopen its international bridges to “non-essential” travel, if the federal government relaxes its international travel ban. Cuellar said he takes exception to claims that shopping and visiting family members on the other side of the border is “non-essential.”
Here is what the five local leaders had to say:
“The concern I have is the health issue, of course, and the economy. The health issue has to play foremost in my mind, to keep our community as safe as we possibly can. However, we do need to open up our ports sooner or later.
“Random testing, I think that would be excellent. Our business community has been very gracious and very helpful in enforcing orders that we have passed. The cities, I could not speak more highly about them. They have been tremendous partners in keeping everyone working together. I think we have a good team here in Starr County. And we will open the ports just as soon as we can.
“My thing is the safety and well being of our community has to come first. So, our decision will be based on that. But, I assure you the ports will be open at some point”
“I definitely support this proposal, especially as there is a local component and that is something that is paramount. It is trending down. We were in a critical situation. But, thanks to all the efforts of the mayors, the judge, the hospital, the school districts and many entities, we were able to bring this trend down. That is something we were very proud of. But, we have to start looking forward. Having that local input is paramount.
“This is a decision that will affect their entire county. It is essential. What impacts us as a community? We have had a difficult time handling this pandemic. But, I am glad to report the numbers are trending down dramatically. We are certainly proud of that. Let’s be cautious. Will this have any impact in terms of spokes? We have to have a conversation with CBP and with our neighbors to the south as well. What are the numbers over there? Whaat are their concerns?
“I am glad that we are now at this point where we can have that conversation because, to be frank with, a few months ago or a few weeks ago, I would not even venture to begin having a conversation about this. But, now that we are in much better place we can begin that conversation and certainly start planning for (the opening of the International bridges.”
“I do agree with the plan but we must proceed cautiously. This has to be studied real quick and real well. We still have a little defiance on the CDC guidelines but with you guys’ help I think we can continue to decrease the numbers to a level where we should be okay and continue with the process to open our ports of entries.”
“Our sales tax numbers have steadily increased this fiscal year compared to last year and month to month they have also increased. And I think a lot of that is attributable to the fact that people in smaller communities are shopping within their own communities. So those dollars that we were bleeding out in sales tax we are starting to see remaining here. So, we are looking at what that future is looking like to us. We have about an $80 million investment and as you drove into town you probably saw a lot of that construction ongoing. We are preparing for that retail.
“We are working closely with county and municipal leaders to ensure we are being a viable community that protects our citizens but also is open for business for those that are coming from anywhere else, whether is outside the Rio Grande Valley or our neighbors from Mexico.”
“I think that the most important thing is what the cities and counties do to create an atmosphere of ongoing success. It is not one point of contact that you can put your finger on. What are the services available to our small businesses to do what we do, which is disinfect the facilities with certified… we have trained our own staffs. Every week we do it. We hire people when there is a problem or something because we want to have a third party that would testify to the situation.
“I think the cities and the counties can do a lot of good if they assist and educate the businesses how to operate safely and how to enforce that concept. Because it is all about what people are willing to do. If somebody is not cooperating, well then you have an enforcement issue.
“But, it is in your hands now, Starr County and the cities, all of them, to decide how you are going to go about helping to protect people that keeps business functioning. Because, like it or not, health is the most important thing. Because you need people to be in your community. But they need jobs, they need income, they need to pay their bills and that means we are going to have to learn to survive in some way until this pandemic is over with and that is speculative, as to when it is going to be.”
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