Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28) announced Friday the securing of $27.4 million for a new Air and Marine Operations hangar facility through the 2021 Homeland Security Appropriations bill.

The new facility is expected to create jobs and follow the design of a similar facility in Yuma, Arizona that will house aviation from various federal law enforcement entities. The new facility will include administrative, operational and hangar space, aircraft and vehicle parking and other necessary site improvements to meet Customs and Border Protection’s mission. The hangar facility will be the first phase in creating a campus for CBP and Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the South Texas region.

“It is critical that our nation’s leading aviation and maritime law enforcement agency has the necessary resources to safeguard the southern border,” Cuellar said. “That’s why since 2015 I have been working with both the City of Laredo and CBP to create a campus for CBP and ICE so they can effectively complete their mission. This new hangar facility, the first phase of the campus, will help CBP train its agents to anticipate and confront security threats. As the Vice Chair of the Homeland Security on Appropriations, I will continue to support Customs and Border Protection and fund them the necessary resources for our country’s national security.”

City of Laredo Councilwoman Norma Nelly Vielma of District V was also in the press conference as the project will be created within the district she represents. She praised the congressman and all those involved for getting the project going. She believes this helped retain many of these airmen and people that were planning to relocate to San Antonio.

“Back in 2017, when I first came into office, I went to look at the facilities at the airport and they were on the verge of going to San Antonio because the facility was very compact and it was not feasible for the pilots to do their work,” Vielma said. “In fact, they had to add a container just to help the mechanics do their job which was not a very professional or secure space.”

The councilwoman said the compact area sometimes led to damages to the helicopters that landed. The city looked into the Yuma design for the land next to the airport to create the project to ensure that jobs stayed in the area, security continues to be high and federal law enforcement officers have a good space to work.

The project is also slated to create many jobs for federal government personnel, both around the country and locally.

“My maintenance department will probably double in size, and I anticipate probably another 30% increase in law enforcement personnel,” CBP director of air operations Brian Paul said. “I think that my administrative personnel would have to increase by a couple as well.”

He said these are all jobs that are available people around the country and locally at USAJobs.gov. However, he cautions that most of the time, the people hired for these jobs are locals as they are people who have the expertise, experience and love for the city and would like to continue working and living in it.

According to Paul, a good cross section of the community works in his facility, and he only expects some people with specialized training and opportunities not found in the city to be outside hires.

Some of the most common jobs that will be needed will be agents, mechanics and other types of officers. Vielma said the new project will also bring more people to the area which will benefit the local economy.

As for the training and certification required for mechanical workers, Laredo College is one of several colleges along the Texas border committing to the efforts as aviation programs continue to grow.

“We are encouraged by the announcement of the development of the CBP Air and Marine hangar which will certainly lead to more advanced workforce and economic development opportunities in higher-paying, high-demand careers for the entire Laredo community and our region,” Laredo College President Dr. Ricardo Solis said. “While the pandemic has undoubtedly affected our plans, we will continue to explore opportunities in aviation-related programs in the future.”

Paul said having the local community in engaging in the education for these future jobs is essential and shows how the city continues to excel at retaining professionals instead of seeing them leave the city.

“Laredo truly has change in my 20-year law enforcement career back to the year 2000,” Paul said. “In the past 20 years improvements have been made and the city is growing, so we are looking forward for this state-of-the-art facility.”

The facility is considered essential as field operations around the area also continue to grow in efforts to help secure the border.

The CBP Laredo Air Branch currently has a 2-year lease at the Laredo International Airport, but according to CBP, the current facility is inadequate for their operations. The new hangar facility will provide space for aircraft storage, mechanic maintenance and administrative space for CBP operations.

The new facility will also include two 24,000-square-foot hangars and an administration office building. AMO currently has a 10,000-square-foot hangar with 4,000 square feet of office space which fits a combination of six AS350 ASTAR and EC120 helicopters in the hangar. The new complex will be able to house large multi-engine fixed-wing aircrafts and medium-lift helicopters.

According to Cuellar, the building of the facility will all depend on the upcoming election. His estimates are that a reelection of President Donald J. Trump would make the money available by December as the president would not have to wait for the transitional government to sign the bill with the appropriated money into law. A Joe Biden election would put it into motion around March or April 2021, but the congressman assures the money is there.

Cuellar and airport officials believe the project will begin breaking ground towards the end of December and be completed in 2024.

“I have a gold shovel sitting at a corner of my office, so I’m ready to go whenever you guys come down and Congress gets down the check,” Paul said.

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