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Border & Immigration

New Mexico Border Zone Expanded For Mexican Travelers

By Mónica Ortiz Uribe / Senior Field Correspondent
Published June 7, 2013 at 12:14 PM PDT
This story was published more than 11 years ago.
New Mexico Border Zone Expanded For Mexican Travelers
The Department of Homeland Security approved New Mexico's request to extend its border commercial zone Friday.

The Department of Homeland Security approved New Mexico's request to extend its border commercial zone Friday.

The new rule means Mexican visitors will soon be able to travel further into the state without having to fill out more paperwork.

Currently Mexicans with border crossing cards, or tourist visas, are only allowed to travel 25 miles into the state. DHS will now extend that travel zone to 55 miles.

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The new travel zone will include the cities of Las Cruces, Deming and Lordsburg.

Arizona made a similar expansion in 1999. New Mexico's two senators pushed for this extension years ago, saying the move would benefit the border economy.

Border & Immigration
Mónica Ortiz Uribe
Senior Field Correspondent Mónica Ortiz Uribe (Las Cruces) is a native of El Paso, Texas, where she recently worked as a freelance reporter. Her work has aired on NPR, Public Radio International and Radio Bilingue. Most of her stories examined the effects of drug-related violence across the border in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Previously, she worked as a reporter for the Waco Tribune Herald in Waco, Texas. She graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso with a degree in history.
See stories by Mónica Ortiz Uribe
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