NOGALES, AZ — What do a bus driver, a business executive and a warehouse operator all have in common? They all rely on the border every day for work.
The foundation of trade in Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Sonora, relies on the many bi-national workers and companies that keep goods coming.
Every day, Javier Alfaro crosses between Mexico and the U.S. as a bus driver for an international transport company to provide for his family in Sonora.
“I cross three times a day,” Alfaro said in Spanish. “It’s very nice doing this job because I meet people from all over.”
Alfaro is one of more than 10 million people who crossed into the United States through the two ports of entry in Nogales in 2023, according to data from the Greater Nogales Port Authority.
ABC15 and Scripps News have launched this special series taking an in-depth look at life along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Port Authority chairman Joshua Rubin, a business leader in the area, also crosses daily into Mexico to meet with companies that operate on both sides of the border.
“Border communities rely so much on another country to be able to survive,” Rubin said. “About half of what comes into the country is going into a manufacturing plant inside Arizona.”
The port authority estimates the total value of imports and exports through Nogales to be more than $28 billion, using 2022 data. The largest industries revolve around manufacturing and produce.
Scott Vandervoet runs a cold storage facility in Rio Rico, Arizona that serves as the first U.S. stop for fruits and vegetables before being distributed across the country.
An employee of his has a home in both Arizona and Sonora, sometimes staying in Mexico to cut down on commute time during the week.
“Too often, the border is seen as a dividing entity, a dividing line, whereas what we see, as is more of a connecting structure,” produce importer and warehouse director Scott Vandervoet said. “The border is the opportunity to interact. It’s the opportunity to do trade and commerce. It’s an opportunity in itself.”
Mexican maquilas and their connection to Arizona
As for manufacturing, miles of factories, known as maquiladoras, line industrial parks in Mexico with goods bound for Arizona and beyond.
From medical supplies to cars and electronics, Mexico currently has 110 maquiladoras serving American, Canadian and other foreign companies that take advantage of Nogales, Sonora’s proximity to one of the world’s largest consumer bases, the United States.
Daniel Rivera chairs INDEX, the association representing Nogales, Sonora manufacturing.
“That’s our biggest advantage, that we’re right at the border,” Rivera said. “Those companies, they need those their finished good as soon as possible, like, same day. Border crossing is so critical for all of us.”
While critics of the investment into foreign manufacturing plants worry it strips jobs from U.S. workers, Rubin said the manufacturing industry south of the border creates direct economic benefits and jobs in Arizona.
Under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), many of the companies with Mexican maquilas also have “twin” facilities in the United States to finish making and distributing goods.
“You’re helping produce and keep jobs in the United States, compared to say, going to China because of the cross-border relationships,” Rubin said.
Building a bi-national workforce for growing industries
As Ambos Nogales (both Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora), trade relationship builds, a new generation of workers from both sides of the border is needed to keep the communities alive.
Rivera said universities bloomed around the Maquila industry in Mexico, training engineers, assembly workers and more.
“Schools, colleges have been growing around those sectors,” Rivera said. “Now, we have so much potential.”
In Arizona, Greg Lucero with the Nogales Chamber of Commerce said emerging industries like electric vehicles and semiconductor manufacturing have created the need for more workers to mine precious minerals.
“The chamber has created a subcommittee to work with local business and industry to start looking at developing a pilot program to start feeding local students into these programs,” Lucero said.
Lucero said, ultimately, he wants to see an international agreement between institutions in Mexico and the U.S. to create dual certifications that would be recognized for work on both sides of the border.
“We are in a unique position to take advantage of these two countries and the workforce that exists in both countries,” Lucero said.