Borderland leaders, organizations ask Biden Admin. to lift travel restrictions with Mexico

EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — Congressman Tony Gonzales (R-TX) joined a bipartisan group of members of the U.S.-Mexico Border Congressional Delegation in sending a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to ease travel restrictions and closures on the land ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico Border.

On Friday, Gonzales joined a second group of bipartisan and bicameral members on a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas inquiring about plans to reopen the ports of entry as well.

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“Our communities represent key arteries for our national economy through the land ports of entry connecting us with our Mexican sister cities,” said the letter to President Biden. “The health and safety of these communities, whether within or beyond the border, are of utmost importance to us. As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updates their guidance to support increased allowable activities, we now believe it is appropriate for the stringent restrictions to be reassessed to determine if the closures should be lifted.”

“Our border cities rely on travel to and from their sister cities in Mexico for trade and commerce, along with other daily activities, like going to the store or visiting loved ones,” said Gonzales. “Opening our ports of entry is the next step in helping our communities return to normalcy and recover economically.”

The El Paso Trade & Manufacturing Council (EPTMC), a non-profit economic development organization in El Paso, Texas, joined those urging the Biden Administration to lift travel restrictions.

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The EPTMC sent a request Tuesday to the Biden administration urging the federal government to lift the restrictions on cross-border travel, citing rising vaccination numbers and falling case positivity numbers.

“It's now time for El Paso and Cd. Juarez communities to resume their sense of normalcy,” the EPTMC said in a statement. “It’s now time for the U.S. government to allow the southern border to prosper by lifting the restrictions that have hampered the economic stability of the largest cross-border community. It's time that Washington DC listens to what people from this region want to see.”

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