City of Laredo Mayor Salinas to Speak at South Texas Mayors’ Stakeholders Summit
Written by admin, Mar 22, 2013, 0 Comments
Courtesy Xochitl Mora,
Conference will focus on South Texas, border issues
Laredo, TX – Starting today, March 22, City of Laredo Mayor Raul G. Salinas will be attending the South Texas Mayors’ Stakeholders Summit in Edinburg, Texas, organized by the New Leaders Texas organization. The two-day conference will be a convening of community and civic leaders and elected officials from around Texas to talk about the needs and enormous potential of the unique South Texas region, and will feature keynote speaker City of San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro on Saturday.
“Leaders from South Texas and beyond will gather for a frank discussion of border issues, education, energy and health care, with panelists including Congressmen Joaquin Castro and Filemon Vela,” said Kathleen Thompson, Executive Director, New Leaders Texas, via an e-mail inviting Mayor Salinas to participate in the summit. The summit will include a diverse group of leaders, both from South Texas and Austin, who will move this conversation forward into effective actions.
Mayor Salinas will focus his presentation on Laredo’s trade industry and how it drives not only the local economy, but also, helps generate business far beyond our community. His comments will also focus on how sequestration will impact trade. With over $216 billion in trade, which includes 60% of the U.S. trade with Mexico passing through the Port of Laredo, the impact of sequestration to the Laredo economy cannot be minimized. Sequestration to Laredo means the loss of 200 Customs & Border Protection officers/agents per day and 22,616 man hours of CBP operations throughout Laredo every two weeks. If there is a significant delay in products reaching their intended destinations, the damage will be felt nation-wide.
Additionally, Mayor Salinas will mention the concern to border security that sequestration may bring. He will point out the devastating effect on Border Patrol’s ability to safely patrol and secure our border these cuts will have, exposing Laredo and the nation to threats from outside threats, including organized criminal elements, smugglers and terrorism.
Salinas will encourage other border and South Texas leaders to also contact the White House and all federal Texas elected officials, encouraging them to find a compromise and end the sequestration immediately, as the impact that Laredo will feel will be felt equally throughout the U.S./Mexican border.
“I’m extremely proud to continue to promote our city of Laredo, especially to other leaders from throughout South Texas who look to Laredo as an example of a city that continues to meet the challenges we face and find meaningful, working solutions for the betterment of our citizens now and for the future,” said Salinas.
New Leaders Texas is a statewide network dedicated to nurturing and promoting the next generation of principled, capable Texas leaders.
