Douglas City Hall. January 10, 2023.
In a three to two vote, the Douglas City Council Council declared an emergency in response to President Donald Trump’s executive orders on border security during Wednesday night’s special meeting.
Mayor Jose Grijalva sought the emergency declaration to deter any financial impacts that may occur to the border city’s revenues.
“With the closing of the southern border, the City of Douglas will see a decrease in revenue sources from sales taxes, tourism, and other areas of commerce,” the declaration reads. “The City of Douglas will see an increase in costs to assist the federal government in carrying out these Proclamations and Executive Orders…With a potential loss in revenue for our government and local businesses, we respectfully request compensatory assistance from the federal government.”
As a point of clarification, the U.S.-Mexico border is not closed at this time.
Council members Ray Shelton and Richard Acosta voted against the proclamation sharing similar concerns that the declaration is happening too soon.
“(Constituents are) saying, if we do this, that it's going to show that we're in an emergency when there's no emergency,” Shelton said.
Acosta also warned about perceptions that may come from the declaration.
“We're almost jumping the gun,” Acosta said. “Why is Douglas declaring an emergency? It almost seems like Douglas is going against the administration right now.”
Grijalva emphasized how fragile Douglas’s economy is with 70% of the city’s sales tax reliant on residents from Agua Prieta, Mexico.
“It’s nothing political,” Grijalva said. “The immigration issue is a federal issue, and I think however they carry it out, we need to protect our constituents with some sort of cushion with funding.”
If it were him, Grijalva said he would have declared another emergency during the migrant surge that occurred during Biden’s administration. He holds that the city put forward $100,000 due to costs that occurred during that time.
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