January 29, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 18 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page H1253]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      FIND BALANCE BETWEEN LEGITIMATE TRADE AND TOURISM AT BORDER

  (Mr. CUELLAR asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. CUELLAR. Mr. Speaker, I live on the border, and we have to 
understand that, every day, there is about $1.3 billion of trade 
between the U.S. and Mexico. That is a lot of jobs that are being 
created on this side.
  When you look at the Mexicans who come over and shop, one out of 
every four international tourists will be people from across the river. 
That is over $20 billion that is spent on the U.S. side in hotels, 
restaurants, and many other places. Those are jobs over here.
  We want to see strong border security, but, again, we have to make 
sure that we find the balance between legitimate trade and tourism. The 
way to do that is to look at technology that has worked for the 
military that can work for us on the border and hire the right number 
of Border Patrol and CBP officers. If we do that, we can find a way to 
find the balance between legitimate trade and tourism, and I ask you to 
please consider that as we debate border security.

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