Our area needs an increase in immigration help, not a decrease

The decision of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service to close its field office in Tijuana, Baja Calif., highlights the lack of understanding of the need for increased immigration services in our region, not less.

The office has provided a location for foreign nationals, especially citizens of Mexico, to begin the immigration process to the United States by obtaining needed information and materials. Americans in our area who are assisting relatives who want to immigrate to our nation or get necessary documentation have also used the Tijuana office.

As of July 3, however, the office will be closed. Agency spokeswoman Marie Sebrechts said the closure will “make the operations and resources more efficient, because we have seen that the majority of the work in Tijuana is focused in giving information that the customers could obtain from the Internet or on the phone.”

Some, of course, will still prefer to seek immigration information and documents personally and they will now have to travel to Ciudad Juarez across the border from El Paso, Texas, or to Mexico City to do that. It is a major inconvenience for those in our area who have used the Tijuana office.

USCIS says few people will be impacted, but we doubt those who will now have to go to Ciudad Juarez or Mexico City would agree.

Instead of cutting back, It seems to us that having a full-fledged immigration office - one that can handle the whole range of services - in this part of northern Mexico makes a lot of sense, whether it be in Tijuana or Mexicali or even San Luis Rio Colorado, Son.

There are strong cross-border cultural and economic ties along this portion of the border which stimulate immigration, and centralizing services in Ciudad Juarez and Mexico City ignores the need in this region.

Perhaps a big part of the reason why the Tijuana office was not more fully used was that people were unable to satisfy their needs there. Why couldn't more services have been provided in the Tijuana office instead of closing it?

California and Arizona have cultural and human links to Mexico that have been forged over hundreds of years. The economies are also linked. Our own area is likely to experience even more need for immigration services as economic ties increase when a new commercial port of entry is finished here soon.

While we understand the need to manage expenses, it should be balanced with the need to provide service, and sending people to Ciudad Juarez and Mexico City doesn't do that.