San Diego Metropolitan - The Connection

Delays at the border cause economic disruption on both sides, which, when serious enough, cause unemployment in San Diego and in Baja California.” That line came from my August column, in which I discussed the failure of Immigration and Naturalization Services and U.S. Customs to open and keep open most, if not all, the 24 northbound gates during peak crossing hours.

During that same month, the San Diego Association of Governments held meetings with those agencies, and other organizations took up the cause. INS and Customs responded by opening more gates, and as had happened previously when this had been done, crossing times declined dramatically. Then came Sept. 11, and war in a most brutal and treacherous manner was brought to our shores.

This has changed everything. Our borders must be made secure from those who would enter intent on acts of terrorism against civilian populations or military installations. Border inspections are no longer about just stopping illegal immigrants crossing in search of jobs or drug barons transporting narcotics to waiting consumers. All border crossings — pedestrian, vehicular or commercial — now must be scrutinized to assure enemies of the nation cannot accomplish their evil intent.

The ensuing long waits have diminished traffic to both sides by 30 percent to 40 percent, and even with this reduction, border waits can be in the hours. And so the August article prediction, “An economic disruption is sure to follow,” in reference to long wait times, is upon us. But it goes well beyond retail stores and hotel occupancies on both sides — it affects trade, commerce, services and industries. It affects individuals and entire families. It creates unemployment and economic hardships.

While we cannot compare our losses with those of New Yorkers, or our suffering with theirs, our regional economic catastrophe is nonetheless a hardship and a reality. We must address it and resolve it.

The events of Sept. 11 did not signal the beginning of our economic problems. Our national economy already was retracting, and Mexico’s was almost in a free tailspin. All the Mexico/U.S.-border states were faced with United States owned maquiladora operation cutbacks, layoffs and zero growth. Baja California was no exception.

Sept. 11 exacerbated our region’s economic problems as it added the San Diego and Baja California tourism and retail industries to the already ailing manufacturing industries, and further damaged tourism and retail sales by the imposition of border security checks mandated as part of national security.

The San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau reports San Diego’s tourist spending fell by more than $116 million, or 27.9 percent, in September alone. Likewise, Baja California lost more than $90 million in tourism revenue. Hotel occupancy in San Diego fell from 79.4 percent to 58.7 percent, and Baja California experienced drops of as much as 50 percent. This has caused massive layoffs on both sides of the border.

Baja Californians’ annual San Diego expenditures of $3 billion, which are a monthly weighted average of $250 million, also experienced a severe retraction calculated to be as much as 40 percent for September. It gets worse: Mexican companies and foreign-owned maquiladora product and service purchases from San Diego, which total $9 billion annually and average $750 million monthly, fell by more than $150 million for the month.

It is not difficult to understand why Rep. Bob Filner has asked for federal aid and requested Gov. Gray Davis to declare our border region an economic disaster area so it would qualify businesses affected for low-interest loans. But as any banker will tell you, loans have to be paid back from profits. If there are scant buyers, there are scant sales, and ultimately scant or no profits with which to pay back loans.

So while this remedy may serve as a temporary Band-Aid the ultimate cure is to secure our borders from potential infiltration by terrorists, as well as from the scourge of drug trafficking.

Mexican President Vicente Fox is recommending the formation of the “North American Security Bubble,” in which the North American Free Trade Association countries would harmonize visa requirements for visitors from outside North America, and work closely to identify terrorist suspects and other security threats. While this is a good start, it will not provide immediate relief, and it needs Mexican congressional approval, a body that still uses “losing national sovereignty to the U.S.” as a populist political tool.

Although this is not their war, nor thus far are they the targets of terrorism, Baja Californians must come up with concrete and effective plans to help in securing our common border from their side, as they must understand and accept that for Americans nothing takes preference over the security of the nation. And they must make their congress understand that nothing is a greater threat to national sovereignty than terrorism.

In San Diego our local, state and federal elected and community leaders must join Rep. Filner’s call for additional border inspectors to staff pedestrian and vehicular gates, and commercial inspection areas to keep all gates open in an effort to diminish waiting time while preserving security, and thus ease the negative economic impacts on the region.

We’d better get started soon, because this new reality may become our new norm.

Patrick Osio Jr. can be reached through San Diego Metropolitan or by e-mail at posiojr@aol.com.