EL PASO, TX (Border Report) – A congresswoman from New Mexico is pushing to fund one of the country’s fastest growing freight border crossings. U.S. Representative Yvette Herrell, R-New Mexico, also wants a House committee to start building the border wall that President Biden removed in January.

“There is an urgent need to include adequate funding for the Santa Teresa port of entry. Constituents and stakeholders in my district are experiencing unprecedented growth with the rapid expansion of the Santa Teresa Industrial Borderplex and surrounding areas, ”Herrell said Wednesday.

Located a few miles west of the Texas state border, Santa Teresa has become the second busiest international freight facility in the El Paso area, facilitating $ 24 billion in trade per year and supporting 5,849 direct jobs, Herrell said. She is asking members of the House of Appropriations committee for money to modernize the port.

“It is essential to include funding to modernize, expand and modernize the port in order to accommodate the increasing demands so that future generations of New Mexicans can live and work in these (communities),” Herrell said in a statement. letter to committee leaders. “Allocation of additional infrastructure and manpower in Santa Teresa [,,,] will ensure that New Mexico and the United States are prepared to seize this opportunity for economic development now and in the future.

According to the Border Industrial Association, southern New Mexico’s exports to Mexico have increased 412% since 2012. This is the highest percentage of growth in trade activity of any port along the southern border. .

The BIA promoted funding for a port expansion feasibility study that would become the cornerstone of any future improvement. The port recently made adjustments to its cargo inspection area to accommodate blades for wind turbines over 100 feet manufactured in Juarez, Mexico, and shipped to wind farms across the United States.

Regarding the funding for the border wall, Herrell wrote to committee members that “securing our southern border through physical border infrastructure, such as completing the construction of the border wall, is vital to our security. national ”.

While not making any specific monetary request in her letter, she denounced the Biden administration for “facilitating a border crisis” and failing to enforce immigration laws.

She expressed hope that the committee will allocate funds for the construction of the border wall.

She referred to figures from the Department of Homeland Security from last September showing a 233% increase in illegal immigration compared to September 2020. The figures fell in October, but the southern border remains on track to overtake. the 2 million “encounters” with unauthorized migrants during the calendar year 2021..

“An efficient physical infrastructure works to secure our southern border and the results speak for themselves. Illegal drugs, border crossings and human trafficking activity have decreased in areas where barriers are in place, ”Herrell wrote. “We cannot continue to facilitate, reward or pay illegal immigrants who broke the law by bypassing ports of entry. ”