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Plugging the Border for Security

The bridge linking Laredo, Texas and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
Photo by Suzanne Sprague
The bridge linking Laredo, Texas and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico

By Suzanne Sprague, KERA 90.1 Reporter

Laredo, TX – Suzanne Sprague, KERA 90.1 Reporter: Straddling the Rio Grande in southern Texas, Laredo is the largest inland port in the western hemisphere. But it is also a city divided. Laredo, Texas, sits on the American side. Nuevo Laredo is just across the river in Mexico. But most people here think of "Los Dos Laredos" as one city. Betty Flores is mayor of the Texas side.

Betty Flores, Mayor of Laredo, Texas: Somebody decided the Rio Grande was going to be the dividing line between the United States and Mexico. Didn't mean a thing to us. It just meant that there was a river between our homes.

Sprague: Four bridges connect the two sides of Laredo. And there's barely a moment when they're not bustling with tourists snapping photos of the Rio Grande or tractor-trailers inching along toward inspection points. Business here has doubled since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect in 1994. So on the morning of September 11th, when Mayor Flores watched the World Trade Center attack on television, she feared for Los Dos Laredos.

Flores: And I was very worried that our freedom was going to be threatened - our freedom to move about the way we were used to. And lo and behold, it was.

Sprague: The border never closed, but within an hour of the East Coast attacks, traffic had slowed to a trickle as inspections dramatically increased. A five-minute walk across the border turned into an hour long wait; and the 15 minute border crossing by car turned into a three hour commute from hell. Customs agents began searching the trunks, engine compartments and back seats of nearly every car coming into Laredo, Texas.

Benito Juarez, Chief Inspector with U.S. Customs: We have been at the highest state of alert, which is Level 1. This means all of the vehicles coming in or conveyances or cargo will receive a closer scrutiny or inspection.

Sprague: Benito Juarez is a chief inspector with the U.S. Customs Service in Laredo. The heightened security hasn't led to the arrest of any suspected terrorists at the Laredo border, but Juarez says it has dramatically increased the seizure of fugitives and drugs.

Juarez: Marijuana: a 33% increase. Cocaine: a 22% increase.

Sprague: The level 1 alert is still in place. But checkpoint backups are shorter because there are more inspectors and less inspecting. Still, residents complain the border crossing has become unpredictable, with delays ranging from 15 minutes to two hours. And their tolerance for the disruption in their lives is wearing thin.

Maria del Rosario Lozano, Nuevo Laredo resident: Todo cambio.

Sprague: Everything changed, says Maria del Rosario Lozano of Nuevo Laredo.

Lozano: My oldest son, he goes to university in Laredo. Last summer, he left at 8 o'clock to get to class on time. This summer he would have had to leave at 7 to make a 10 o'clock class. Going three hours ahead and wasting all that time because of the border. That's why he dropped his class.

Sprague: Lozano fumes over the border crossing delays. And she's all but stopped shopping on the American side of town because it's not worth the trouble. There are dozens of stores in Laredo, Texas, within a five-minute walk of the pedestrian bridge over the Rio Grande. They sell cheap toys, stereos, clothes and trinkets, mostly to Mexican nationals. Cross-border shopping accounts for almost 30% of the Laredo, Texas, economy; and, according to a survey by Texas A&M, sales here dropped 15 to 30% in the months after 9/11. George, who offers just his first name, runs a general store selling everything from costume jewelry to portable stereos. He says business has picked up recently but isn't back to where it was a year ago. So he has raised his prices to keep profits up. And while he supports the president, George rolls his eyes when the conversation turns to homeland security.

George, store owner, Laredo, Texas: They have to look like they're going something, somewhere. So if it's going to be making it harder for people to cross, which most of them cross because they work here or they shop here, if that makes the government feel like they're doing their job, then so be it, right.

Sprague: Laredo Mayor Betty Flores says 9/11's impact so far is much less serious than she feared. But if another terrorist attack or federal initiative prompts even tougher crackdowns at the border and impedes international trade across Laredo's four bridges, then communities throughout the U.S. will feel the effects. Car stereos, vegetables and Barbie dolls all have to pass through Laredo.

Flores: When I talk to the mayor of Boise, Idaho, and he says, "Why should I care about your border?," I say, "This is my city, but it's your border. Your potatoes are going to rot in Laredo if you don't come and help me with border issues."

Sprague: Pia Orrenius, a senior economist with the Federal Reserve Bank in Dallas, says free trade with Mexico has been an economic boon for parts of the U.S. And she warns that, as new terrorism precautions are still being developed, it's hard to predict how those communities will fare in the post-9/11 world.

Pia Orrenius, Economist, Federal Reserve Bank, Dallas: Now, I think we're just sort of struggling and trying to make it through. And although we haven't seen all the ways in which this is going to happen yet, we are quite certain that we don't want to kill the goose that laid the golden egg.

Sprague: In the days after 9/11, reporters from more than 50 media outlets across the world descended on Laredo. They came to tell the story of tough border security paralyzing international trade. But that didn't happen. And in fact, a year later, Los Dos Laredos are almost back to being one city split by a narrow river. For the residents of Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo, the shadow of 9/11 still lingers. People in Laredo feel they can no longer take for granted being able to shop at their favorite cross-border store or send their children to a better cross-border school. They have lived life as a city divided, and they wonder if that is the past or the future. From KERA 90.1, I'm Suzanne Sprague in Laredo, Texas.

To contact Suzanne Sprague, please email ssprague@kera.org.