Continued threats to close border unhelpful, unproductive

WASHINGTON (March 29, 2019)—Border Trade Alliance President Ms. Britton Clarke released the following statement regarding the announcement by Customs and Border Protection that the agency would begin shifting personnel away from ports of entry in order to address increased migrant flows:

“The trade community understands the difficult decisions our border agencies must make as they strive to achieve the careful balance between facilitation and security. Increased migrant flows only make that challenge more complex.

“We are, however, deeply concerned over the announcement by Customs and Border Protection that the agency will shift up to 750 CBP Officers away from ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border in order to assist Border Patrol with the care and custody of migrants. Reassigning resources from the border is the wrong move. As the agency itself acknowledges, this will result in lane closure and delays. Those delays will disrupt trade flows, increase shipping costs, and risk a drag on the U.S. economy. We strongly encourage the Department of Homeland Security to deploy resources from other parts of the department to support Border Patrol during this time of increased migrant flows.

“Furthermore, the BTA has opposed previous threats to close the entire U.S.-Mexico border; it’s a position we maintain today. Such threats are unhelpful and unproductive, and only spread economic uncertainty and risk lasting economic harm.”

 Since 1986, the BTA has served as a grassroots, non-profit organization that provides a forum for discussion and advocacy on issues pertaining to border development and quality of life and trade in the Americas. A network of public and private sector representatives from the United States, Mexico and Canada, BTA’s core values include a commitment to improving the quality of life of border communities through trade and commerce. The BTA is online at thebta.org and @borderalliance.

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