Governor Brewer wants it both ways on the border. On one hand her administration has an office devoted to increasing commerce and tourism with Mexico, on the other she pushes legislation which would fund $1.4 million of tax payer money to create a militia to tour the southwest border, ultimately hurting commerce and tourism from our southern neighbor. She can't have it both ways.
In a speech from 2009 Gov. Brewer noted: "Our exports to Mexico from Arizona reached nearly $6 billion in 2008, with total bilateral trade through our ports of entry in excess of $20 billion. And we must not forget our visitors from Mexico that come and spend money in our malls, hotels and restaurants, generating over $2.6 billion in sales in Arizona. That's an increase of more than 200% since 2001, a remarkable level of growth that indicates just how important Mexican visitors are to the Arizona economy."
Since Governor Brewer has been in office the number of tourists coming into Arizona from Mexico has declined hurting the states economy. The numbers cited above have actually come down from where they were in 2007 -2008, when Mexican visitors to Arizona supported over 30,000 jobs in the state with total sales of $3.61 billion giving the state a much needed economic boost which are surely missing today as Arizona is facing unparalleled economic woes.
Governor Brewer is right about one thing: the Ports of Entry along our Southwest Border are critically important to Arizona and the rest of the country. If the Governor feels impelled to talk about security she should be talking about economic security for Arizona, which would include finding ways to enhance their ports of entry. In a recent Congressional field hearing, Nogales customs broker Terry Shannon Jr. noted that despite the importance of the economic activity along the border, a lack of proper staffing at the ports of entry has led to long wait times that discourage cross-border transit. He noted that while 34 million people crossed through Arizona's ports in 2005, the number fell to 23 million in 2010. That is a lot of money to be turning away at a time when the states economy could use the influx of cash.
Which begs a greater question, if the Governor is concerned about the states economy, shouldn't she be focused on increasing revenue and not expending limited resources on pointless political ploys? In this economic environment why on earth would the state legislature put forth any money, let alone $1.4 million for a militia which will only hurt the economy of those along the southwest border? Shouldn't they be focused on enhancing commerce and tourism along the border instead? A recent report noted that violence along the Arizona border is at an all time low, and undocumented entry into the United States is actually at a net zero, the only people Gov. Brewer is keeping out is tourists and businesses looking to invest in the state.
If Governor Brewer was actually looking to help Arizona's economy she would find a way to take that $1.4 million and invest it in the Ports of Entry. At the end of the day in the economy the state is facing, promoting more public private partnerships only enhance trade and tourism which would make sense for Arizona, if not for the Governors political calculations.
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I have never run into a Mexican tourist who snuck across the border, They usually have nice cars and drive like decent folks and are more than welcome to all Americans I LOVE seeing Mexican tourists and want more of them, but it is absurd to think that making sure that they do things legally will impede that..
In light of this, perhaps the best move on Arizona's part to increase Mexican tourism, would be to mandate that stores give out sturdier shopping bags. Those cheap plastic bags that tear must be a real annoyance when hiking ten miles through the desert to re-cross the border.
In fiscal 2010 the removal pace of criminal aliens was fully 60% higher than in the last year of the Bush administration. In 2011 the Obama administration set a new record for deportations. Under Bush the majority of removals were people who had not been convicted of any crime, a trend reversed by Obama. The only other time deportations came close to the levels of the Obama administration was in the early 1930s. The pace of company audits has roughly quadrupled since President Bush's final year in office.
Secure Communities, which relies on fingerprints from arrests, has played a critical role in the record-breaking deportations of criminal immigrants. Secure Communities was launched in October 2008 and plans are to implement it in every jail by 2013. The Republicans provided no such comprehensive immigration effort. The number of illegal immigrants skyrocketed in the first half of the decade, rising from 8.4 million in 2000 to a high of 12 million in 2007.
And it is Obama's immigration policy that conservatives condem.
BREWER IS WASTING MONEY YET AGAIN.
A million plus would be better spent in education.
Of course, Education and safety is not on her agenda.
Probably to the SAME person the Blue State California militia (California State Military Reserve) is responsible to....The governor.
What is your point?
http://www.azot.gov/system/files/524/original/2010%20AOT%20Tourism%20Facts%20Final%20102711.pdf?1320360891.
On the other she is agaisnt ILLEGAL aliens.
See the difference?
1) July, 2011, the NY Times reports:
a) At 'Mexican emigration hubs', the flow into America has stopped, i.e., zero traffic, and;
b) Total illegal immigration has dropped from 500,000 to just 100,000 (presumably at non-hubs).
2) Crime rates in Arizona border towns are at a ten year low and no higher than non-border towns.
These highly suggests that current U.S. border security ought certainly be sufficient. Thus spending $1.4 million to create a militia which patrols the open border isn't necessary. Perhaps politicians such as Brewer, Shadegg and McCain aren't properly aware of this recent turn of events.
3) During Brewer's tenure:
a) Mexican tourist numbers have dropped from 34 to 23 million;
b) Mexican spending in Arizona has dropped from $2.6 to $1.6 billion.
No reason is given for this better than 1/3 drop. Perhaps it's the fabulously deadly drug wars Mexico side of the border. Perhaps it's the perceptually anti-Mexican legislation and attitudes put in place in various jurisdictions during Jan Brewer's tenure.
Either way, this is hurting AZ economy $1 billion and 30,000 jobs worth.
It has been noted that ports of entry are understaffed. Day-to-day current legal traffic flow between the two countries is slow. This could be speeded-up with proper staffing.
Thus, that $1.4 million would be better spent on security staffing at ports of entry...and not on a roving militia not required by current border patrol.
In addition to the lasting affects of the lost jobs there is also the fact that illegals send billions of remittances back to their homes every year, thereby taking the money out of the local economy where they have made it.
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/08/17/could-farms-survive-without-illegal-labor/the-costs-and-benefits-of-a-raise-for-field-workers
Last summer, our family drove across the country (Midwest to California) for a family vacation. We purposefully drove 2 extra hours in order to not spend the night or any of our money in Arizona. We purchased gas before and after entering and leaving the state, and re-scheduled our Grand Canyon tour. Instead, we visited the National Parks in Utah (Bryce, Zion, and Arches). Our family had a blast, and we didn't miss Arizona one bit.