Letter to Chad Wolf, Secretary of Homeland Security - Cuellar, Cornyn, Border Delegation Send Bipartisan Letter Demanding DHS Plan for Re-Opening Ports of Entry

Letter

Dear Acting Secretary Wolf:
We are writing to inquire about the status of travel restrictions at land ports of entry along the
United States-Mexico border and the Department's plan moving forward. We fully appreciate
the difficult balance the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must strike between public
health concerns and social and economic equities. As we enter the seventh full month of
restrictions, it is critical that DHS develop a plan for returning to normal operations and
communicate this plan and necessary benchmarks that must be met to local stakeholders in our
border communities.
Pursuant to a mutual agreement with the Government of Mexico, citing the risk of continued
transmission and spread of COVID-19 between the United States and Mexico, DHS suspended
normal operations at land ports of entry along the United States-Mexico border on March 20,
2020, with exceptions for essential travel. These measures were extended on April 20, May 19,
June 16, July 16, August 14, and most recently September 18. On August 19, U.S. Customs and
Border Protection (CBP) announced that it would decrease vehicle and pedestrian lanes during
peak "non-essential" travel times to reduce the risk of further spread of COVID-19. Although
CBP can try to prioritize essential traffic, the agency acknowledges these actions could
negatively impact essential travelers. Furthermore, CBP has not laid out a clear plan to
communicate these changes to travelers or performed outreach to local communities.
Border communities in our states shoulder disproportionately high economic and social costs as
a result of these travel restrictions. Pre-pandemic, Mexican citizens who made short day trips to
the United States to shop accounted for an outsized share of the local economy in those
communities. For example, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas estimates that 40 to 45 percent of
Laredo's retail activity was attributable to Mexican nationals.1 Arizona gets more international
visitors from Mexico than any other nation. In 2019, according to the Arizona Office of Tourism,
those visitors from Mexico spent an estimated $1.5 billion. Data from the Central Bank of
Mexico show that United States has historically run a surplus in cross-border shopping with Mexico, meaning that Mexican citizens typically spend more in the United States than U.S.
citizens spend in Mexico.2 It is unlikely that increased spending by U.S. consumers will make up
for lost spending by Mexican consumers in the border region in the long run. The travel
restrictions will have an especially pronounced effect during the holidays: data show that
Mexican cross-border shoppers sharply increase their purchasing during the months of
November and December, spending hundreds of millions of dollars along the border and even in
cities such as San Antonio.3
Further complicating the financial situation for local governments along the border is the steep
drop in revenue from the international bridges that connect Mexican and U.S. cities over the Rio
Grande. For example, the McAllen-Hidalgo International Toll Bridge Fund has reported a drop
in more than $2 million in revenues relative to budget through July 31, 2020, and additional
revenue losses are expected.4 Losses like this cut into the funds that cities including McAllen and
Hidalgo receive from the toll bridges,5 and mean that they have less money to support health,
public safety, and other essential functions.
Harder to quantify is the effect on the social fabric of border communities. In many of these
communities, families may live on both sides of the border. People frequently travel back and
forth to access medical care and educational opportunities. U.S. citizen parents may turn to
daycare providers on the Mexican side of the border to care for their children while they work.
Now, at a time when daycares are closed in many U.S. cities, essential workers struggle to
balance work and childcare obligations. Reports indicate that U.S. citizens' visits to doctors' and
dental services in Mexico have dropped sharply,6 which is concerning considering the high
prevalence of diabetes in some communities along the border.7 In places that often operate as
one city--two countries--the travel restrictions have caused significant hardships.
Again, we fully appreciate the difficult balance that DHS must strike between protecting its
officers and the public against COVID-19, and facilitating the economic and social needs of
border communities. However, DHS has provided little public insight into how it weighed the costs and benefits of these extended travel restrictions. We worry the longer lines at ports of
entry and inability to social distance in pedestrian lanes may actually increase the risk of
spreading COVID-19, and DHS has not provided sufficient information to show how they are
mitigating these risks.
Furthermore, DHS has not publicly articulated a plan for returning to normal operations, or set
forth any benchmarks that must be reached before the travel restrictions can be partially relaxed
or completely lifted. While we understand that DHS is currently forced to adapt to a constantlychanging situation, all four southwest border states--Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and
California--have developed phased reopening plans. DHS should develop the same type of plan
to better provide local communities with a basic idea of what to expect in the coming months.
Finally, DHS has not adequately communicated with local governments, businesses, and the
general public about the travel restrictions. Although CBP has engaged in local outreach efforts,
many of those efforts seem to have focused on "essential" businesses. So-called "non-essential"
businesses--which comprise critical parts of the local economies--are often left under-informed
about why the restrictions have been imposed and when they may be lifted.
We respectfully ask that DHS take the following actions to lay out a clear path forward and
report back to our offices. These steps will allow our southern border communities to better
prepare and adapt as they continue to face the hardships caused by the pandemic:
1. Provide details on any cost-benefit analysis DHS has done when deciding to extend
existing travel restrictions or impose new restrictions along the southwest border.
2. Provide the data used by CBP to specifically determine peak "non-essential" travel days
and times at ports of entry.
3. Develop and publicly articulate a detailed plan, including benchmarks that must be
reached, for land ports of entry along the southwest border to return to normal operations.
4. In consultation with local stakeholders--both "essential" and "non-essential"--develop a
strategy to effectively communicate any changes to DHS travel restrictions with these
groups.
We appreciate the hard work the Department of Homeland Security has undertaken to protect
Americans' safety in this challenging environment. We remain committed to ensuring that DHS
and CBP have the necessary resources to protect the health of the public and agency staff, and
look forward to continuing to work with you as we respond to the COVID-19 threat.

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