PRINT THIS STORY:

CHANGE TEXT SIZE:

U.S.-MEXICO BORDER TOWNS IN THE CROSSHAIRS

The effects that a new passport law for travel to and from the U.S. will have on retail on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border is proving to be a thorny issue.

Roughly half of the 250 million people who crossed into the U.S.in 2003 were Mexican nationals using a “laser visa” or Border Crossing Card, according to U.S. officials; the other half were American citizens returning to the United States from trips to Mexico — passage for which only a driver’s license is necessary.

The laser visa is likely to remain an acceptable form of identification under the new law, and so experts like Rick Webster, director of government affairs for the Travel Industry Association of America, express little concern about the impact the legislation might have on retail and tourism on the U.S. side. “In terms of Mexican travel into the United States, there should be no impact,” he said.

But border communities such as McAllen, Texas, worry they will suffer if the law is implemented as written. The McAllen Chamber of Commerce cites a report claiming that even a 20 percent increase in waiting time at the border could cost about 19,000 jobs in the region and tens of billions of dollars in Texas alone.

However uncertain, if a serious slowdown does occur, the consequences would be far-reaching for the fast-growing border region, which is now home to 12 million people. “Malls, shopping plazas and downtown areas in border communities have emerged and, in some cases, remain and thrive mainly thanks to the patronage of Mexican shoppers,” wrote Cynthia J. Brown, a professor at the University of Texas-Pan American who studies border issues, in a recent report for ICSC.

Even if Mexican traffic into the U.S. goes unchanged, what about the slowdown that could occur on the Mexican side if U.S. shoppers stop crossing? “It is very common for U.S. citizens to go to Mexico to shop, eat and drink,” said Gwen MacKenzie, CLS, senior vice president of retail investments at Irvine, Calif.-based Sperry Van Ness.

Most U.S. shoppers visit mom-and-pop stores in Mexico rather than malls, says MacKenzie, who grew up near the Mexican border in El Centro, Calif. But shopping centers on the U.S. side that cater to Mexican nationals (one example is Plaza Las Americas, a new 560,000-square-foot center in San Diego) could take a hit if a drop-off in U.S. visitors causes an economic decline on the Mexican side. “A lot of the workers in the hotels and restaurants do come across the border and shop,” MacKenzie said. “So there could be a financial impact there.”

Not to mention the millions of American tourists who fly to Mexican resorts in such hotspots as Cancún and Puerto Vallarta. They too will be forced to buy passports, and so for many, a spur-of-the-moment Mexican jaunt prompted by an enticing newspaper ad, for instance, will no longer be possible, MacKenzie says.

As for the thousands of U.S. teens who cross the border to take advantage of Mexico’s lower drinking age, the party may finally be over — unless their parents are willing to spring for a passport.

— JG