July 17, 2014

Hon. John Cornyn
517 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Hon. Henry Cuellar
2431 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Senator Cornyn and Representative Cuellar:

The Border Trade Alliance writes to you to extend our strong support for certain elements of your Helping Unaccompanied Minors and Alleviating National Emergency (HUMANE) Act.

As you know, our organization’s mission is focused on ensuring that our nation’s land border ports of entry have the resources necessary to process legitimate trade and travel efficiently and securely. Several elements of the HUMANE Act advance that mission.

We applaud your opposition to the imposition of a border crossing fee on private vehicles and pedestrians, which would harm the economic competitiveness of the border regions.

The BTA also appreciates your call for additional resources at the ports of entry to improve security. Additional resources at the ports not only enhance security, but also increase trade throughput, which is vitally important to the nation’s economic health.

Finally, while the BTA has always opposed any efforts to “militarize” the border, we do believe there is a role for the National Guard to serve in a support capacity at the border under the direction of Customs and Border Protection and Border Patrol. Your legislation would allow for border state governors to deploy the National Guard in such a support role and to be reimbursed for such deployments.

We look forward to working with you and your staff to seeing the HUMANE Act through to passage. Please do not hesitate to contact us if we may be of any assistance to your efforts.

Sincerely,

Jesse Hereford         Noe Garcia, III
Chair                           President