In new DHS secretary's visit, balancing security with economic demands

MISSION — A shifting focus to federal agents wearing navy blue uniforms — not green — took center stage Tuesday, as new Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson met with area officials and talked up 2,000 new customs officer hires included in the federal budget.

Johnson placed emphasis on responding more quickly to shifting trends in border crime less than a week after statistics showed the Rio Grande Valley last year tallied more immigrant arrests than anywhere else in the country.

In his second visit to South Texas and on the 30th day of his new gig, the new DHS secretary addressed local media briefly following his meeting with area U.S. representatives and federal law enforcement leaders at the Anzalduas International Bridge in Mission.

Johnson emphasized the importance of remaining focused on providing security across the Southwest border while helping tourists and trade cross efficiently — a challenge as Customs and Border Protection had seemingly taken a back seat to new hires behind Border Patrol, which saw its ranks double between 2004 and 2012.

Johnson’s visit followed the release of Border Patrol’s 2013 immigrant arrest numbers, which showed the Rio Grande Valley Sector is the busiest for illegal immigration in the country, largely because of the rise in nationals from Central America passing through the region.

The new secretary shadowed Border Patrol agents on a mission, toured the Anzalduas port of entry and visited an area inmate detention center. He was expected to go on a similar tour in Tucson, Ariz., on Wednesday.

“We have got to continue to focus on border security and on port security particularly in places like South Texas,” he said.

But Johnson’s visit came as government officials continue to try to strike a balance between promoting the free flow of legal travelers and trade and stemming the flow of narcotics and unauthorized immigrants.

Local officials touted the new CBP hires — though officials have not said how many officers will actually be headed to the Rio Grande Valley — and language that allows local entities to kick in their own funds to pay for officers’ overtime and build improvements at ports of entry.

President Barack Obama signed the budget bill Friday, which appropriated $225 million toward hiring Customs and Border Protection officers. The plan calls for 700 officers to be hired this year, with the other 1,300 coming later.

“We have to make sure to remind (Johnson) that this area, from the Laredo area down, is one of the busiest areas,” U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, said at a news conference.

The new federal budget legislation will allow $7 million in grants to Anzalduas to be spent on adding two more northbound lanes and help improve southbound traffic flow, McAllen Mayor Jim Darling said. Beyond letting local government spend money on what had been left to the feds, private entities can also present their own proposals to fund infrastructure projects at ports.

Already, work has begun on southbound truck facilities at Anzaludas that is expected to finish in 2016.

“You need more lanes to accommodate the commercial vehicles,” he said. “That’s going to help us significantly.”

At its best, Anzalduas provides a fast track for travelers from Monterrey and Mexico’s interior to dodge traffic — or other obstacles — by largely bypassing Reynosa.

At its worst, drivers find themselves stuck on the Anzalduas bridge, with a peak average Saturday wait time of 74 minutes over the past three months — the longest wait at any of the Rio Grande Valley international bridges, according to data compiled by the University of California-San Diego. The longest waits there have stretched more than four hours.

Adding an extra two lanes will help congestion, and having money appropriated by the government to keep them open will surely help, local officials said. 

But McAllen, Mission and Hidalgo officials have their eyes set on opening the bridge to northbound commercial traffic. The presidential permit that allows commercial traffic blocks the construction of cargo import facilities before Jan. 1, 2015.

That would alleviate congestion on the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge, which allows commercial trucks, but would also likely tap revenue from there, as well, as many of Reynosa’s maquiladoras are adjacent to Anzalduas.

“What we want is to be ready Jan. 1, 2015,” the McAllen mayor said in an interview. “When it hits we want to be where we’re not behind the 8 ball.”