WASHINGTON, D.C.—Following the introduction of H.R. 7369, the Customs and Border Protection Hiring and Retention Act (CBP HiRe Act) by Representatives Greg Stanton (D-AZ-04) and Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ-06), over a dozen local officials and stakeholder organizations have come out in support of the effort. The bipartisan legislation provides CBP with more flexibility for hiring, recruiting, and retaining agents, officers, and employees, specifically in rural and remote areas. You can find more information on the bill here.
The bill is supported by a number of local Arizona officials including Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels, Douglas Mayor Don Huish, Sahuarita Mayor Tom Murphy, San Luis Mayor Nieves Riedel, and Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls. Additionally, supporting organizations include the Douglas Regional Economic Development Corporation; Douglas International Port Authority; the Greater Nogales Santa Cruz County Port Authority; Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors; Greater Yuma Port Authority; Border Trade Alliance; Chamberlain Inc.; Fresh Produce Association of the Americas; and the National Treasury Employee Union (NTEU).
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
“The border crisis has taken a devastating toll on CBP and local law enforcement,” said Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels, who is also a member of Ciscomani’s Advisory Council. “I appreciate Congressmen Ciscomani and Stanton for introducing commonsense legislation to ensure that CBP has what they need to tackle the job at hand day in and day out.”
“The City Douglas wholeheartedly supports the CBP HiRe Act and thanks Congressmen Juan Ciscomani and Greg Stanton for fighting to bring the realities of the border to Congress,” said Douglas Mayor Don Huish. “The federal government is in the process of investing over $400 million to the infrastructure deficiencies at the Douglas port of entry but they also need the staff to operate the facilities properly. I hope this bill is passed and adopted as our ports of entry are the single largest economic engine for our community and they play a critical role in efforts to protect the homeland.”
“Having the proper personnel manning our border is crucial not only to our national security but the health of our economic partnership with Mexico,” said Sahuarita Mayor Tom Murphy. “By offering adequate benefits to recruit and retain CBP agents and officers, they will be better equipped to protect our homeland, help facilitate trade and commerce at our ports of entry and complete the countless other jobs that our border communities rely on them for. A special thank you to Congressmen Ciscomani and Stanton for their efforts to support CBP and safeguard our border.”
“For the City of San Luis, our port of entry is our largest economic asset as the principal gateway for millions of travelers and billions of dollars worth of trade, but the ports need to be staffed appropriately,” said San Luis Mayor Nieves Riedel. “The San Luis 1 port of entry is undergoing a $300+ million modernization and without the necessary staffing, we will not be able to open up all the lanes. We need to enable CBP to hire, incentivize, and retain personnel to ensure our economic viability and physical security - and this bill does just that. Thank you, Congressmen Juan Ciscomani and Greg Stanton, for advocating for our needs.”
“The CBP HiRe Act will help support the men and women protecting our borders as well as our communities,” said Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls. “More positive solutions like this need to be made.”
“Since our inception, one of our principal goals has been to ensure that Customs has the necessary staffing in order to ensure that they facilitate trade and tourism while keeping our nation safe,” said Patrick Scherden, Chairman of the Douglas Regional Economic Development Corporation. “I thank Congressmen Greg Stanton and Juan Ciscomani for pushing this critical initiative.”
“Without the right level of staffing, our ports of entry cannot operate efficiently,” said Carlos Fernandez, Chairman of the Douglas International Port Authority. “Recruiting, retaining, incentivizing, and properly compensating Customs personnel must be a top priority and this bill ensures that this will happen going forward. The government invests a lot of money in training Customs officers, we need to make sure we can keep them at the ports. Thank you, Congressmen Juan Ciscomani and Greg Stanton, for ensuring that our ports will continue to fulfill their mission.”
“The Port Authority is grateful to Congressmen Ciscomani and Stanton for introducing this critical bill,” said Josh Rubin, Chairman of the Greater Nogales Santa Cruz County Port Authority. “Customs serves a critical function at our ports of entry, and with the dynamic nature of their mission and the growth in trade and tourism, along with the ongoing fight to stop the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs, we must make sure that Customs has the necessary staffing to fulfill all their tasks efficiently and effectively. Providing direct-hire authority to port directors, the recruitment process, the retention of personnel, and the offering of appropriate incentives to get more officers to choose to come to Arizona are all essential in the effort to secure the homeland. We are grateful that the Congressmen are continuing the fight for the men and women that are on the frontlines at the border.”
“The border crisis is real. In our predominantly rural county, we are feeling the effects of the migrant surge,” said Manny Ruiz, Chair of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors. “Our Border Patrol agents are on the front lines of this crisis every day, working longer and more demanding hours, but Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) are struggling to recruit and retain agents for this important mission. That is why I applaud Congressmen Ciscomani and Stanton for introducing this critical legislation that would allow CBP to add flexibility and incentives in the hiring process and would allow for more agents to be placed in and around critical Ports of Entry like ours in Nogales. We look forward to working closely with him to enact this bill into law.”
"The Greater Yuma Port Authority has spent many years pushing for Customs to have the necessary staffing at the ports of entry to facilitate cross-border trade, commerce, and tourism,” said Matias Rosales, Chairman of the Greater Yuma Port Authority. “Just last year, San Luis was the gateway for over 47,000 trucks, 3.2 million cars, and 7.7 million people with an estimated value of over $1.7 billion in imports and exports. We cannot overestimate the importance of our ports of entry. Customs needs the appropriate staffing and the tools to hire, train, and retain personnel. We are grateful to Congressmen Ciscomani and Stanton for leading the charge on this effort.”
“A well-resourced Customs and Border Protection agency is essential to the nation’s security and economic health,” said Britton Mullen, President of the Border Trade Alliance. “As we have witnessed over the past several months, our borders need a major increase in human resources to contend with the surge in asylum seekers but also to keep pace with rising trade and travel volumes. It’s a significant task, made more difficult in rural and remote areas. The Border Trade Alliance applauds Rep. Ciscomani and Rep. Stanton for working together in a bipartisan fashion to ensure CBP has the tools it needs to recruit and retain the employees who carry out the agency’s dual mission of interdiction and facilitation, regardless of the location. We look forward to working with members of both parties to see this bill through to passage.”
"I am grateful to Congressmen Ciscomani and Stanton for introducing the HiRe Act,” said Jaime Chamberlain, President of Chamberlain, Inc., a Nogales-based family-owned business dedicated to the importation and marketing of fresh produce from Mexico. “Cross-border business depends on the ability for our ports to work efficiently and the appropriate level of staffing is critical to meeting that goal. Customs needs more tools to recruit top talent as they are at the forefront of the efforts to protect the Homeland.”
“The Fresh Produce Association of the Americas supports this bill and appreciates the efforts of Congressmen Ciscomani and Stanton in helping ensure that Customs and Border Protection has the staff they need to perform the complex function they serve at our ports of entry,” said Lance Jungmeyer, President of the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas. “Common-sense, effective steps to improve the hiring and retention of CBP officers, direct-hire authority by port directors, improvements to the recruitment process, and incentives to bring staffing resources to our rural border areas are all positive steps forward. We must secure our country while facilitating the movement of legitimate trade and travelers that are vital for the U.S. economy.”