Border Security Council Report - Office of the Governor - Rick Perry

Appendix C: Public Hearing and Open Meeting Minutes
28
Columbia- 20 percent of commercial crossings at this location.
World Trade Bridge – 100 percent commercial traffic at this location; 8000-9000 commercial
vehicles per day, north and southbound.
Traffic stats – cross high numbers of commercial vehicles with traffic; northbound crossings
have been a concern.
Problems: long wait time, plus implementation of the western hemisphere travel initiative.
Bridge improvement projects – Modification of bridge $2 M to revitalize downtown area;
Santa Ursula connector.
Question from BSC: What is the perception and standards of security on the bridges? Have
guards, but not security officers; on Mexican side, customs agents; any private security
guards? Only in the evenings (8 of the 24 hours); law enforcement going southbound? No,
and the guards on the bridge don’t carry firearms. (According to the police chief, officers are
assigned there, they just don’t announce themselves or when they will be there. No funds
are allocated there for overtime).
Question from BSC: Does the city own all four bridges? Yes. How much do you make? $ 8M.
50 percent used for bridge operations, debt service, etc; the other goes to the general
fund.
I. Gene Garza, Laredo CBP Office of Field Operations, Port of Laredo
One port with 4 bridges, rail bridge and airport; 700 employees.
$152B in trade from Del Rio to Brownsville, $105B is from Laredo.
Security to the community is key.
Over 100 buses cross daily; 000 lbs marijuana, 400 lbs cocaine.
Over 000 aircraft come in.
Participate in state/federal task forces, have an intelligence unit; work with Mexican
counterparts.
Have been subjects of a shootout regarding border violence.
Several arrests at the bridge of border felons.
Have helped to return kidnap victims.
Question from BSC: What happened to the $5.8M seized? Some of the funds go back to the
city.
J. Alfonso Arguindegui, President, Laredo Development Foundation
In 2006, the Port of Laredo ranked as the #1 land based port on the U.S.-Mexico border and
generated over $157B in trade.
In 2006, the Port of Laredo imports ranked:
#2 in vehicles (over $5 billion)
#2 in car parts (over $7 billion)
#4 in TV monitors (over $1 billion)
# in landline phones (over $2 billion)