The Voice of the Border: Trade, immigration, infrastructure, health, agriculture, technology
BTA Podcast: Senator Cornyn and Commerce Secretary Gutierrez on Border Delays: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadU.S. Senator John Cornyn and U.S. Dept. of Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez speak about efforts being made to combat delays at land ports of entry in part two of the addresses from the recent Border Trade Alliance (BTA) International Conference in Washington, D.C. on Border Wait-Times. Senator Cornyn discusses steps that must be taken […]
BTA Podcast: Senator Hutchison & Congressman Reyes on Wait-Times Legislation: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadSenator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) and Congressman Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) recently addressed the attendees of the BTA International Conference in Washington D.C. on their legislative efforts to address a number of components contributing to delays at our borders. Senator Hutchison and Congressman Rodriguez have introduced and pressed for the passage of […]
The Border Trade Alliance (BTA) today announced its strong support for the PORTS Act, H.R. 5622, recently introduced by Congressman Silvestre Reyes (D-TX). The PORTS (Putting Our Resources Toward Security) Act authorizes significant increases in funding for security personnel and infrastructure at all U.S. land ports of entry in order to meet […]
Despite the recent political rhetoric against it, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) continues to be a resounding economic success and is largely driving growing U.S. exports, which remain a bright spot in an otherwise troubled economy.
Consider the following statistics regarding cross-border trade in North America:
- In 1992 prior to NAFTA, according […]
In our new podcast series, President of the Border Trade Alliance, Maria Luisa O’Connell, interviews The Honorable Richard Cortez, Mayor, City of McAllen, TX. In this exclusive interview Mayor Cortez provides a powerful perspective on the economic impacts facing the border region and our nation at large if progress is not made to resolve […]
On Thursday January 3rd, the House Homeland Security Committee held a field hearing in El Paso, Texas entitled, “Ensuring Homeland Security While Facilitating Legitimate Travel: The Challenge at America’s Ports of Entry.” In this meeting, members of the Department of Homeland Security, General Services Administration, Government Accountability Office and numerous private enterprises gathered […]
REAL ID
What Is It?
The REAL ID Act of 2005 was signed into law on May 11, 2005 as an attachment to the “Emergency Supplemental Appropriation for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief, 2005.” According to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) website, the REAL ID Act is “a nationwide effort […]
The Border Trade Alliance (BTA), a leading trade organization, issued its strong support for legislation introduced earlier in December by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) and Congressman Ciro D. Rodriguez (D-TX) to study the impact of growing wait-times at land border crossings along the U.S. border with Canada and Mexico.
In late August, the BTA […]
Last week as part of the FY08 Defense Appropriations bill, the Senate adopted an amendment by Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to provide $3 billion in emergency spending for more border agents, completion of 700 miles of fencing along the southwest border, and procurement of cameras, ground-based radar and vehicle barriers. Senator Graham’s amendment passed […]
The Border Trade Alliance (BTA) wishes to alert you to a situation occurring at our land ports-of-entry that is having a serious, negative economic impact at the border and our nation. Recently Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents began checking and manually entering driver’s license information for a majority of drivers entering the […]
