El Paso, Juarez mayors unveil Border Perception Index survey; immigration & trade are key issues

El Paso Mayor Dee Margo and Ciudad Juarez Mayor Armando Cabada were the special guests Wednesday of a presentation of the Border Perception Index, a survey that examines how the two cities perceive one another.

The goal of the survey was to strengthen the connections of the two communities. The survey identified immigration and trade as two of the key issues impacting the region of roughly 3 million people.

Margo said the results of the survey confirmed the need for easier ways to get people back and forth between the two communities as well as for improving the flow of trade.

“It’s absolutely imperative for us to grow as a region,” said Margo. “We are totally unique and our region cannot be replicated anywhere else.”

The survey found two-thirds of El Pasoans travel across the border to Juarez, while about a quarter of Juarez residents visit El Paso. It also found that 17 percent of those surveyed had homes in both cities, which Margo said came as a surprise to him.

The survey of 896 people was conducted about a year ago by the El Paso Community Foundation and Fundacion Comunitaria de la Frontera Norte, in conjunction with the University of Texas at El Paso, Familias Triunfadoras Inc., and Agencia de Estadistica de Mercados. (Watch the entire presentation in the video player below)