Carlos Sada traveled to McAllen and Laredo, Texas from October 25-27 to strengthen the relationship with key individuals there.
He met with McAllen Mayor Jim Darling; the mayor of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Maki Ortiz; and Federal Deputy María Esther Rey to discuss joint actions and strategies to increase assistance for migrants in Reynosa and McAllen. Both cities are committed to security, prosperity and shared development on the border.
The Undersecretary then led a meeting with the consultation group made up of the consulates of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Mexico in McAllen (TRICAMEX) and Sister Norma Pimentel, Executive Director of Catholic Charities in McAllen. They agreed that the consulates would continue to closely coordinate their preventive protection and priority attention for unaccompanied migrant children and teens.
During his visit, the Undersecretary overflew the border and met with the mayors of Rome, Texas and Miguel Alemán, Tamaulipas, in Rome.
He also held meetings with officials from the National Migration Institute, the US Border Patrol Rio Grande Valley Sector, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Tax Administration Service (SAT). He reaffirmed Mexico’s comprehensive commitment to migrants and to modernizing the border infrastructure to ensure the region’s competitiveness.
The Undersecretary visited the Miguel Aleman-Roma International Suspension Bridge, Laredo International Bridges I, II, III and attended the presentation of the World Trade Bridge expansion project with city officials.
He then met with Laredo trade organizations and chambers to discuss the importance of NAFTA for trade in the region and its benefits for both societies and economies. In 2016, about 36.7% of bilateral trade between Mexico and the United States, or about $192.7 billion USD, crossed at the Nuevo Laredo-Laredo border.
Mexico is Texas’s most important trading partner for both imports and exports. About 382,000 jobs in Texas depend on trade with Mexico.