It all started a few days ago when City of Brownsville Commissioner Ben Neece and Interim City Manager Michael Lopez attended a ceremony at the offices of the Customs and Border Patrol when new Port Director Tater Ortiz announced their measures to facilitate bridge crossing for Holy Week travelers from Mexico.
“Holy Week is a peak travel period and CBP has implementation of multiple facilitation measures and travel tips continues to aid in keeping wait times down to manageable levels while retaining our ability to carry out our border security mission,” said Ortiz. “We encourage travelers to present WHTI- (Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative) compliant documents during inspection, and use their RFID-enabled documents through our Ready Lanes."
“Holy Week is a peak travel period and CBP has implementation of multiple facilitation measures and travel tips continues to aid in keeping wait times down to manageable levels while retaining our ability to carry out our border security mission,” said Ortiz. “We encourage travelers to present WHTI- (Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative) compliant documents during inspection, and use their RFID-enabled documents through our Ready Lanes."
"At that time we asked whether the city could ask the CBP to open an extra traffic and pedestrian lane and we were told that the city didn't have a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) with them, but that Cameron County did."
If they could get the county to agree to let the city piggyback on their MOU and reimburse the CBP for their manpower to monitor the lanes, he didn't see any problem, Ortiz said.
Neece and Lopez then approached the county and requested that the city be allowed to use their existing MOU. At the last meeting, the county commissioners considered approving another MOU between the city and the county in executive session and it was approved. Before that, the city commission had voted to make the request to the county.
Now Lopez said that they are awaiting the response from the CBP on the request as early as Friday. Holy week extends from March 25 to march 31. Ultimately, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will recommend the best times to open additional lanes to ensure safety and efficiency, he said.
But while the county approved the city piggybacking on its MOU, the commissioners did not approve sharing in the cost or reimbursing the CBP and the city will have to pay for it alone. That's why some commissioners were miffed when County Judge Eddie Treviño was quoted in the local daily as if it had been the county's idea.
"We hope this measure encourages visitors to return and invite their friends," he told the daily. "If this mode and process works, it is something that we might want to do for other busy times of the year."
Did anyone get the license plates of that hijacker?
10 comments:
Isn't Harlingen,San Benito and county cooperating funds to promote Los Indios bridge?
Why make the City of Brownsville pay for this? WHY DOESN'T CAMERON COUNTY PITCH IN? Maybe the county could let the Feds charge tolls on the Brownsville side for traffic coming from Mexico to get the money. Charge $15 vehicles carrying more than 10 passengers, $20 for commercial vehicles and $10 for vehicles with less than 10 persons on board and charge $5 for motorbikes, bicycles etc. People walking back could be charged $2 a head too.
Let the Feds collect it and split the pot with the City and the County.
This is why the border wall is needed, because you have these so called compadres who will manipulate deals. They didn't ask the county citizens,they just make decisions upon their own corrupt gang. CBP must be desperate to make money to replace the money that Homeland Security has spent and is unaccountable for. They spend the monies and have nothing to show how, where, when, who spent the monies. All of these so called wanna bees should be investigated by the FBI as to what and why they want to manipulate the system. What and who are "they", expecting to bring in? That's the question
So the city can build more bike trails good idea. The trails are overwhelmed with traffic.
We need more Rickshaws down town and more thee wheel bikes for the elderly.
Its called a Joint Venture.
2 entities have something that each can contribute - one has the MOU and one has the $$.. of course Eddie can say "we" - had the County not had the MOU - it couldn't of been done.
deja de llorar por chingaderas Juan.
You mean like a marriage?
Unprofessional BORDER guard, rumbled shirt unshaven, rolled up sleeves....maybe a sharper image is needed.
While the county spends millions on Harlingen’s Los Indio’s bridge, (cold storage, marketing), they spend nothing on downtown B’ville’s Gateway. They own Gateway, so they should make this investment.
The long pedestrian lines are ridiculous. Takes two hours to cross at times. They’re killing downtown Brownsville’s commerce.
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