In letter, BTA says border state and local governments bear burden of dysfunctional migration system

In this May 11, 2022 letter to President Biden, the Border Trade Alliance expresses its growing concern over the migration situation at the United States-Mexico border. The membership of the BTA includes U.S. municipalities on the border, as well as private sector firms for whom a well-functioning, efficient, and secure border is essential to their livelihoods.

Border communities – elected leaders, social service providers, and citizens – pay the price for a mismanaged border. No city or county can properly deliver regular core governmental services like public safety, public transportation, and sanitation, while also managing a challenge as complex, wide-reaching, and resource intensive as undocumented immigration.

The BTA reiterates in the letter its position that migration is and must remain a federal issue, but a perceived failure to act by the federal government prompts attempts by some elected officials to respond on their own terms.