Mission hosted the South Texas Alliance of Cities on July 25, 2023. Pictured are Mission Mayor Norie Gonzalez Garza, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Edinburg Mayor Ramiro Garza Jr.
Courtesy/City of Edinburg
LMTonline.com
Jorge A. Vela, LMTonline.com / Laredo Morning Times
After not being invited to the inaugural meeting of the newly-formed organization, the City of Laredo is now slated to formally join the South Texas Alliance of Cities on Monday at a conference in San Antonio.
Laredo Mayor Dr. Victor Trevino is set to travel to the Alamo City to sign the pledge to formally make the Gateway City a member of the STAC. They will also discuss many of the issues impacting the South Texas area, with a major focus on the economy and immigration.
The conference is also vital for the city to attend, as United States Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas will be present and speak with various city leaders about border security and other topics.
While Laredo sits between San Antonio and most of The Valley municipalities, it was not originally asked to join the STAC. However, talks have been underway since June of this year between Trevino and San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg to discuss the city’s membership.
“I had a conversation with Mayor Nirenberg, whom I sit with on the Texas Big City Mayors coalition, signaling Laredo’s interest in being part of the alliance,” Trevino said. “The discussion itself had an impact (on including Laredo), but more importantly I believe that Laredo, as the largest port of entry in the U.S., can provide some valuable perspective.”
As the mayor travels to San Antonio, he said there are a multitude of topics that will be discussed between the different municipalities and Mayorkas. Trevino said that border security and the resources needed to curtail the problem most likely will be central to the conference.
“As the Homeland Secretary, Secretary Mayorkas has President Biden’s ear when it comes to border policy,” Trevino said. “The primary message is requesting the tools and resources for our communities when dealing with migrant surges, and to share our experiences and successes.”
Trevino has always pushed for better binational collaboration with Mexico and the respective border cities of American cities on the Mexican side to manage surges in migrants from South America and fentanyl being produced in Mexico. The mayor considers this essential and will be something he will share during the conference.
During the conference, Trevino will also discuss how the city continues to be one of the safest in the country while also ensuring that a potential border wall in the area would inhibit the relationship between Los Dos Laredos.
“The Laredo formula has worked without a border wall,” Trevino said. “Laredo is the largest port of entry in the U.S. with 15,000 to 17,000 trucks passing daily. And yet, we are close to last when it comes to illegal border crossings. The key is our law enforcement presence and cross-border collaboration that we have at our ports of entry.”
Trevino also wants to share with the other South Texas mayors how important it is to collaborate with Laredo, as it is soon to even see an even bigger expansion of trade. This is due to the advent of nearshoring, which will surely impact the I-35 corridor and surrounding areas.
“Based on the onshoring movement, moving away from China, Laredo is predicted to continue the leader in cross-border trade,” Trevino said. “We know that we can’t continue to achieve this success without our counterparts in Mexico.”
Trevino said he is a firm believer in alliances and also believes that the region is stronger together than apart.
“The Valley and Laredo share a significant amount of strategic partnerships, but we have to understand that at times the economic development goals can vary and are at times, distinctly different,” the mayor added.
The South Texas Alliance of Cities is spearheaded by San Antonio and aims at strengthening their economic ties, transportation avenues, development and learning on how to deal with any immigration issues.
The core mission between the different cities states that the entities bind together in efforts to discuss and combat: "The challenges faced by the communities of our region are not faced alone, and they have implications for the future prosperity of all nations in North, Central and South America."
Some of the challenges that the STAC agreement pinpoints as vital to discuss include increased migration across the southern border directly into South Texas, long overdue infrastructure investments to modernize and accommodate projected growth, revitalizing and empowering communities where poverty has been entrenched for generations, educating and re-skilling a multilingual workforce of the future, and the mitigating the effects of climate change.
Membership of the STAC will grow to eight members by including Laredo, as Trevino will join other current members and cities including:
- Brownsville with Mayor John Cowen.
- Edinburg with Mayor Ramiro Garza.
- Harlingen with Mayor Norma Sepulveda.
- McAllen with Mayor Javier Villalobos.
- Mission with Mayor Norie Gonzalez Garza.
- San Antonio with Mayor Ron Nirenberg.
- Weslaco with Mayor David Suarez.