Texas Border Coalition supports two bipartisan border bills in Congress

A pair of border bills up for consideration in Congress are getting a vote of support from the Texas Border Coalition, an organization consisting of mayors, city and county officials, and community and business leaders from Brownsville to El Paso focused on border issues.

El Paso County Commissioner and coalition Chair David Stout said the two bills stand to fundamentally improve the situation at the border, not just as it relates to immigration but commerce and tourism as well.

"We must embrace inclusive immigration policies that uphold our values and harnesses the potential of individuals seeking a better life," Stout said in a news release announcing the group's support. "By providing a fair, efficient and comprehensive solution to our broken immigration system, we can build stronger communities, foster economic growth, and reinforce the ideals that make our nation great."

More: Commissioner David Stout appointed chair of national immigration reform task force

The two bills are the Dignity Act and the Land Ports of Entry Modernization Trust Fund Act, both of which were authored ‒ at least in part ‒ by U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso.

The Dignity Act is an ambitious immigration reform bill sponsored by Escobar and U.S. Rep. Maria Salazar, R-Miami, that would extend legal status to undocumented immigrants already in the country, create additional pathways to citizenship, invest in border security and infrastructure, and more.

The Land Ports of Entry Modernization Trust Fund Act, authored by Escobar and a bipartisan contingent of colleagues, including U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, and Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio, is aimed at increasing efficiency at border crossing sites by establishing a trust fund to construct new ports of entry, expand and improve existing ports of entry, procure technology for inspecting and processing traffic passing through ports of entry, and hire U.S. Customs and Border Protection staff. Gonzales also represents a portion of eastern El Paso County.

The trust fund would be propped up by customs and immigration user fees, surcharges and federal appropriations.

And the bipartisan support for both bills might indicate a new willingness among legislators to take substantive action on immigration reform and border issues for the first time since 2006, Stout noted.

"What I think is really important to note about both of these bills is that they have bipartisan authorship," he said. "I think it's really important to point that out. Hopefully they'll be able to garner support from both sides of the aisle for both of these bills."

He added that "enforcement-only and deterrence-only immigration policies" have so far proven ineffective and it's time to "recalibrate."

Lawmakers say land ports of entry legislation would aid border region

The Land Ports of Entry Modernization Trust Fund Act, Stout said, would ensure "efficient border management" by providing cutting-edge technology and infrastructure at land ports that would enable officials to "strike a balance between making sure we're able to get goods and people across ... and making sure we're keeping bad actors out and legitimate trade is taking place in an efficient and seamless manner."

Gonzales agreed.

"The Land Ports of Entry Modernization Act would create a new avenue for CBP officials to obtain the resources needed to provide for the construction of new ports of entry, expand and improve existing ports of entry, hire additional CBP staff, and procure technology for inspecting and processing traffic passing through such ports of entry," Gonzales said in an email.

More: BNHR march calling on President Biden to do more on immigration reform

A key provision of the bill, Stout noted, is the creation of a Land Ports of Entry Modernization Oversight Board, which would advise the Department of Homeland Security on how to utilize funds and ensure accountability over expenditures.

For Gonzales, the bill represents an opportunity to beat back the fentanyl crisis, which claimed nearly 43,000 lives in 2020.

"Maintaining modernized infrastructure at Land Ports of Entry is critical to America's economic interests," Gonzales said in the email. "The role that Land Ports of Entry continue to serve in expanding commerce and trade in TX-23 and across the nation cannot be understated. That is why it is important that Congress continues to provide the tools necessary for these areas to function at the highest level."

"Furthermore," he continued, "these ports have become modern-day battlegrounds in the war against fentanyl and ensuring that Customs and Border Protection officials are adequately equipped to handle the influx of illicit substances pouring over our southern border is of the utmost importance.

Along with simply making the border-crossing process safer and more efficient, as well as stopping illicit drugs from entering the country, Stout and the coalition members believe the land port legislation represents a boon for the economy far beyond the border.

"We leave millions upon millions on the table every year when we have bottlenecks at our ports of entry," Stout said, "so, I think that bill just stands to create more economic development, not just for our border communities, but for the state of Texas and the whole country.

"It seems like a win-win situation," he added. "Hopefully, Congress sees it the same."

Dignity Act represents 'comprehensive approach' to immigration

Where the land ports bill takes aim at interstate commerce and travel, the Dignity Act looks to resolve some of the longest and most contentious issues surrounding immigration.

Escobar said during a recent news conference that the bill represents a compromise, as neither Republicans nor Democrats got everything they wanted out of the legislation, but insisted that Congress had to act.

More: US Rep. Veronica Escobar leads group of House Democrats on border tour in El Paso

"The status quo has consequences," she said. "Congressional inaction has consequences. It is long past time that we take action."

Stout agreed.

"All we have done is invest our money in enforcement-only and deterrence that really has nothing to show for it," Stout said. "I always think about how folks on the right continue to talk about the unprecedented number ... of encounters that occurred in 2022. If that's the case, then all of the money we've spent on the wall, all the money we've spent on this deterrence-only policy ... is not working."

The bill also includes provisions key to El Paso's recent migrant response efforts, including guaranteed reimbursement for expenses related to relief work, both for cities and counties, as well as for nongovernmental organizations and other groups involved.

"The NGOs here in El Paso County have really carried the water, not just recently but over many years," Stout said. "We would not have been able to take care of these folks without their support."

"I feel with (this bill), we would be able to continue the amazing model that we have set up here in El Paso when it comes to receiving migrants and welcoming them, processing and sheltering them if they need that, and of course helping them on their way to wherever their final destination is," he added.

Despite a Republican cosponsor, the Dignity Act likely faces a tougher road to passage than the commerce-centric Land Ports of Entry Modernization Trust Fund Act, a symptom of what Stout called a "mismatch" between the current situation at the border and the nation's need for the benefits arriving migrants could provide to industries like construction, agriculture, tourism and more that continue to feel the sting from a shortage of workers.

A mismatch likewise exists when it comes to understanding and appreciating the desperate situation faced by many of the migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border, he added.

"This country needs to acknowledge that there are those mismatches," Stout said. "We need more access for migrants to come and more legal pathways for them to come into this country ... and it doesn't seem like rocket science, but it's unfortunately something we've been talking about for many, many years. I'm kind of at a loss as to why we can't get some of these bills through."

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Two bills show bipartisan support for addressing issues at the border