October 4, 2018 500 AM
PRESIDIO – People crossing from Ojinaga, Chihuahua into Presidio, Texas now have a place to wait to enter the country away from the oppressive summer sun.
Work was recently completed on a shade structure at the entrance of the Presidio port of entry where border crossers go to get permits and traveling documents.
It’s taken two years to get folks some shade. In 2016, public outcry concerning the potentially inhumane conditions in the border’s summer heat to people waiting in line at the port resulted in a petition for action, which was initiated by former Presidio art instructor Laurie Holman.
According to the narrative of the petition, there was “ . . . no shade, no seating, and no access to water for the people who are standing outside in line to get their permits for traveling to the United States.”
People entering the country with vehicles are required to walk across the bridge leaving their vehicles and wait sometimes for hours to receive their entry permits.
“I cannot imagine how hot it is standing on the concrete with no shade, no chairs and no water,” Holman said at the time. “I often see women with small babies and children, the elderly who can barely walk, standing there. This is totally unacceptable and inhumane treatment. “
According to a port spokesperson, the busiest month for permits to enter the U.S. is July with 15,765 permits issued. A total 685,355 vehicles crossed and 52,146 pedestrian crossings occurred at Presidio in fiscal year 2017 alone.
Temperatures can reach triple digits regularly along the border during summer months resulting in dangerous heat conditions.
Presidio city officials at the time also took up Holman’s cause and asked the government to do something.
Brad Newton, the city’s Economic Development Director, said that while the city didn’t play a role in funding or implementing the project, they met with port staff to voice concerns about the conditions. He said the delay in implementing the project might have been partly due to negotiations required with the private owner of the land and port facility.
Presidio Mayor John Ferguson said that despite the time it took to get some heat relief for border crosses, the city is happy with the end result and feels the port did a good job with an area he estimates can provide shelter for 40-50 people now. Said Holman, who now lives in Zacatecas, “I’m glad it finally happened. I’m not sure what the holdup was all these years, but as the old saying goes, better late than never, but that’s pushing it a bit.”
