El Paso, Juarez, Las Cruces: Cities representing three states, two countries, one community

Three states, two countries, one community. That describes the economy and the culture of the Borderplex region of El Paso, Texas; Las Cruces, N.M. and Juárez, Mexico. President Lorie Logan recently returned to the region, a powerhouse in international trade and manufacturing. She connected with business, nonprofit and government leaders on both sides of the border to understand the interconnected economy of this dynamic community.

Through round table discussions, moderated conversations and facility tours, she heard firsthand how the local economy is fairing. The region boasts incredible opportunities for growth in trade and manufacturing. She also heard about challenges, some special to the region, such as border infrastructure and policy that can slow trade. And like many other communities across the country, concerns about education and barriers to joining the workforce such as transportation and child care remain prevalent.

The trip is part of President Logan’s 360 Listening Tour to continuously engage with community leaders across the region. Her travels help deepen her understanding of the region’s people and economy by adding color and insights that go beyond official statistics and help shape her perspective of the national economy.

Find the Dallas Fed's latest research and data on the border region.

The El Paso-Juarez region sits at the crux of U.S.-Mexico trade, and an important facet of this cross-border commerce is the maquiladora. Maquiladoras are Mexican factories that import and assemble components to export back to the U.S., taking part in a government incentive program that supports the manufacturing sector.

During her trip, President Logan visited Seisa Medical, one of the few locally grown maquiladoras remaining in the El Paso-Juarez region. The medical device manufacturer employs around 3,000 workers and provides opportunities for high-paying jobs, often recruiting recent graduates from nearby universities such as the University of Texas at El Paso. The employees President Logan met do life-saving work, including designing products and sewing stent sleeves, a complicated process that must be done by hand.

Seisa Medical leaders echoed other local business leaders who told President Logan they see new opportunities for growth in the region, but border infrastructure and policies can pose barriers to their businesses.

The Dallas Fed is a leader in research on the evolving economic relationship between the U.S. and Mexico. Part of this expertise stems from conversations with leaders in border communities, where the Dallas Fed can develop relationships with key stakeholders on both sides of the border and gain insights on the economy.

President Logan joined The Borderplex Alliance, an organization of business and community leaders from El Paso, Texas; Las Cruces, N.M. and Juárez, Mexico, for a conversation on the influence of the U.S.-Mexico relationship on these communities and our shared economy.

During a moderated conversation with Borderplex Alliance CEO Jon Barela, President Logan said: “I think there's just an incredible opportunity right here for the border economy. Mexico is our number one trading partner, overtaking, China. That opportunity is here, and it's not only for the businesses that are involved in trade and manufacturing, but also for all those that are around the industry, providing services such as transportation, logistics, warehousing and finance.”

Learn more about how border communities contribute to the evolving economic relationship between the U.S. and Mexico.

It’s hard to think of an agricultural product more closely associated with New Mexico than the chile pepper. New Mexico is the No. 1 chile state in the U.S., producing around three-quarters of the nation’s chiles. A visit to chile pepper processing facility Olam Spices gave President Logan a window into the agricultural industry in southern New Mexico.

President Logan learned about how locally (and beyond) sourced chiles and spices are processed and made ready for consumers. While the company enjoys rising consumer demand for its products due to the unique flavor of its chiles, Olam faces many of the same barriers to success that impact other plants in the Borderplex: workforce, trade policies, infrastructure.

Agriculture plays a strong role in the state’s economy. The tour accompanied a visit to the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, where President Logan, alongside N.M. Secretary of Agriculture Jeff Witte, held a roundtable conversation with southern New Mexico leaders. Participants explained that agriculture in the area is changing, and a lack of technological investment is prompting shifts from, for instance, lettuce and chiles to pecans because machines are readily available to harvest the crop.

Read the most recent Dallas Fed Agricultural Survey.