Annotations for People: Saenz-louie

Texas Congressman Ron Coleman, who convened the border summit, says, "It is unfair for border residents to pick up the tab in preparation of a North American free trade agreement." Coleman specifically opposes a proposal by house majority leader Richard Gephardt to levy a special tax on border businesses. Coleman says, "No one has asked people along the Mississippi to pay for flood damage, so why should the border be any different?"

Coleman says, instead of taxing border communities, the government should use the money collected from duties at the various ports of entries to pay for infrastructure projects. For Latino USA, I'm Luis Saenz in El Paso, Texas,

This is news from Latino USA. Hundreds of Border Patrol agents lined up along 20 miles of the El Paso Juarez international border line in around the clock operation being dubbed Operation Blockade. Luis Saenz reports.

Go ahead and move between the two cement bridges, see if we can cover both of those areas.

As helicopters fly over the Rio Grande, one can see Border Patrol units about every hundred yards. This is Operation Blockade. A strategy which Border Patrol Chief Sylvester Reyes says will cut down on the number of illegal entries into the US. Reyes says that the operation may also cut down on crimes committed along the US Mexico border.

First thing that people want to do, particularly in this community is blame undocumented workers, illegal aliens for all the troubles of the area. This will give us a good solid gauge to judge that.

Martin Sanchez is with the Border Rights Coalition, an umbrella group of immigration rights activists who are concerned about the increase of Border Patrol activity.

Blocking of the border has created an ambiance of terror, I think on some people's minds, particularly people who work on this side of the border.

About 50 yards from where agents are looking through binoculars, a group of women carrying children are wading across the Rio Grande from Mexico. One of the women says the blockade hasn't affected her personally.

Bueno mira, yo con mio yo no lo siento tanto como los hombres que pasan a trabajar, ¿verdad?

She says it is hard for the men who cross to work. She asks, are the Americans now going to do the work that is done by Mexicans? She says she has the patience to wait until the blockade is over, but not everyone is patient. Recently, Mexican workers staged a protest on the international bridges, halting traffic for several hours. But for the Border Patrol, Operation Blockade is doing what it's set out to do. Officials say the number of arrests of undocumented immigrants has dropped by 90%. For Latino USA I'm Luis Saenz in El Paso, Texas.

The music in this downtown storm might be festive, but for downtown merchants, the mood is anything but. They say their business is dropped by as much as 90% and they're blaming the blockade conducted by the border patrol.

Jaime Advice has been selling sunglasses in downtown El Paso for the last five years. He depends heavily on people from Juarez who come across to buy his glasses, but today even browsers are scarce. He says the government should take a closer look at what the blockade is doing to the border economy.

There should be a little bit more human quality in these things, he says, "You lose a lot of confidence. Juarez and El Paso have always been sister cities. It doesn't appear that we're part of the same family."

As the blockade entered its third week, some community leaders on both sides of the border are realizing how much the two cities depend on each other and are calling for a meeting to talk things out. Adrian Gonzalez Chavez is the director of tourism in Juarez.

She says, "People should not say, 'Don't go to El Paso,' or, 'Don't go to Juarez,' but rather see what can be done to treat American and Mexican citizens justly."

The director of the Juarez Chamber of Commerce says, "People need to recognize the interdependence both cities and jointly seek solutions to problems including that of illegal immigration and the border's economic viability."

Meanwhile, merchants are doing what they can to attract customers, but even on a good day, some say businesses down about 70% from what it used to be. One Mexican shopper told us, "Many people are staying away because they think they may have their passports confiscated at the border crossing. If you have all your documents, you have nothing to worry about," She says.

Meanwhile, border patrol agents are continuing a massive show of force along a 20 mile stretch of the US Mexico border. Border Patrol Chiefs Sylvester Reyes says, "Operation Blockade is accomplishing what it's sent out to do: cut down on the number of arrests of undocumented immigrants." Since the blockade began, the arrest of illegal immigrants have fallen 80%. Chief Reyes says, "Operation Blockade will go on indefinitely." That's bad news for some merchants who say if business continues to drop, they can't go on indefinitely. For Latino USA, I'm Luis Saenz in El Paso, Texas.