The port’s renovated structure is Lead-ership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified, incorporating features such as a solar hot water system, rainwater harvesting, advanced lighting and building automation, and recycled content materials with low maintenance finishes.
Today, the Nogales Port Authority hails the Mariposa Port of Entry as one of the most modern and busiest border stations in the United States, allowing thousands of people and commodities to effortlessly cross the U.S.-Mexico border each day.
The People Factor
Ruth Soberanes is director of communications and strategic initiatives for the Arizona-Mexico Commission, which operates under the purview of the governor. She is proud of the port’s overall progress, boasting, “Cooperation among officials has never been better at Arizona’s ports of entry.”
Further, a recent pilot program uniting the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, Nogales Commer-cial Port of Entry personnel, and Mexican customs officials helped reduce processing time even more at the border, lowering the average crossing time for cargo shipments to a mere 20 minutes.
With a staggering 300,000 northbound commercial vehicles from Mexico crossing through the Mariposa Port of Entry each year—many of these trucks loaded with perishables—this is good news indeed. It does not quell the clamor for more workers, however, as most Nogales suppliers say the need for more Customs officers is still critical.
Point of Fact
Fresh Produce & JobsThe Nogales produce industry supports more than 4,000 jobs, accounting for 22.3 percent of those employed, and generates over $190 million in wages (or 24.8 percent of overall wages). The total monetary impact of these jobs represents over $437 million (including wages and taxes) for Santa Cruz county.
Staffing Issues
“After the revamped border was finished, the only remaining question was adequate staffing,” reiterates Jerry Havel, director of sales and marketing for grower-shipper Fresh Farms. “If the government can provide the people we need to run the port efficiently, we don’t anticipate any issues.”
Although Nogales is slated to receive 120 new Customs officers, some say this still won’t be enough to handle all the traffic through Mariposa. To further complicate the issue, it currently takes about 300 days to properly hire and train a Customs officer.
Some lawmakers believe veterans could fill the void. Last year, a bipartisan bill was passed to enlist veterans to fill these customs agent positions. “With the leadership of Senators Jeff Flake (R-AZ), John McCain (R-AZ) and Representative Martha McSally (R-AZ), the ‘Border Jobs for Veterans Act’ was signed into law in fall 2015,” explains Soberanes.
