WEBVTT - San Antonio Texas Mayor talks immigration

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<v Speaker 1>And immigration is one of the most important issues for

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<v Speaker 1>voters in the upcoming presidential election, and San Antonio, Texas

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<v Speaker 1>is at the forefront of the debate, often acting as

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<v Speaker 1>a migration hub where authorities send people en route to

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<v Speaker 1>their final destination. Joining us now for more on that

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<v Speaker 1>from the Bloomberg City Lab Summit in Mexico City is

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<v Speaker 1>the Mayor of San Antonio, Ron Nuremberg. Mister Mayor, great

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<v Speaker 1>to have some time with you. I was looking at

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<v Speaker 1>some charts about the flow of migrants over the Southwest

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<v Speaker 1>border from the CBP, and indeed we've seen a spike

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<v Speaker 1>to the highest levels of immigration across that area in

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<v Speaker 1>American history, at least in the history of the United

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<v Speaker 1>States of America. How have you dealt with that in

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<v Speaker 1>San Antonio? Have the people of San Antonio dealt with

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<v Speaker 1>that influx of immigration?

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<v Speaker 2>Sure? Well, good morning, and thank you for having me.

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<v Speaker 3>I think the first thing I would say is contextualize this.

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<v Speaker 3>This is not unique to the US southern border. This

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<v Speaker 3>is happening all across the world. More displaced people in

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<v Speaker 3>this period of time one hundred and fourteen million people worldwide,

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<v Speaker 3>more since World War Two. So what's happening in the

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<v Speaker 3>southern border is not unique. What is unique, however, is

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<v Speaker 3>the political and legislative paralysis within our political system in

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<v Speaker 3>the United States. How we have handled that at the

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<v Speaker 3>local level, since we don't deal with solutions to immigration policy,

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<v Speaker 3>is that we've had cooperation from the Biden and Harris

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<v Speaker 3>administration provide resources so.

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<v Speaker 2>That we can do two things.

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<v Speaker 3>We can make sure that we continue to uphold our

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<v Speaker 3>values as a nation, but we also deal with safety

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<v Speaker 3>and safety and resources in a way that allows people

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<v Speaker 3>to move on to their next destination while protecting public safety.

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<v Speaker 3>It has been a successful effort, and since that period

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<v Speaker 3>of time when President Biden issued his executive orders, we've

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<v Speaker 3>seen about a ninety percent decrease in traffic through our

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<v Speaker 3>Migrant Resource Center. So it works when Congress puts solutions together.

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<v Speaker 3>If they yield to the politics of Donald Trump and

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<v Speaker 3>we're left with no solutions, it's incumbent upon presidential leadership,

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<v Speaker 3>and that's exactly what we've seen with President Biden.

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<v Speaker 1>Mister Mayer, I imagine you have to uphold the law,

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<v Speaker 1>do you then when you find someone in this country illegally,

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<v Speaker 1>work with the government to send that person back to

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<v Speaker 1>his or her home country, or do you move that

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<v Speaker 1>person along in the system somehow, how do you sort

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<v Speaker 1>of stop the breaking of the law in that situation.

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<v Speaker 2>That's exactly right.

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<v Speaker 3>We cooperate with local law enforcement with federal authorities, and

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<v Speaker 3>so folks who are in our city have been vetted

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<v Speaker 3>and have been given asylum. Hearing dates some cases years

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<v Speaker 3>from now, which is part of the problem when we

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<v Speaker 3>don't have legislative solutions that were clearly laid out, and

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<v Speaker 3>a bipart is in border bill that Trump unilaterally killed

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<v Speaker 3>by calling his favorite senators.

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<v Speaker 2>So there are solutions to this at the local level.

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<v Speaker 3>However, we work with federal authorities to make sure that

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<v Speaker 3>we have the resources to treat people with compassion, but

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<v Speaker 3>also protect public safety and maintain public order.

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<v Speaker 4>And I want to bring the labor market into this conversation.

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<v Speaker 4>We know, of course, at a federal level that it's

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<v Speaker 4>still very strong. But there is an interesting story from

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<v Speaker 4>Texas Monthly recently which actually found that Texas has eighty

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<v Speaker 4>workers for every hundred open jobs, and that construction jobs

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<v Speaker 4>in particular have a high degree of job openings right now.

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<v Speaker 4>And I'm curious, I mean, how has immigration impacted that.

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<v Speaker 4>Have you been able to fill some of those job

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<v Speaker 4>openings with migrants.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, San Antonio is a international city. We are a

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<v Speaker 3>city that has been multicultural and has roughly a fifteen

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<v Speaker 3>percent foreign born population. So you know, immigrants are part

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<v Speaker 3>of our labor force regardless of the career field, in

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<v Speaker 3>high skill positions and all kinds of markets. So, of course,

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<v Speaker 3>immigrants are part of our construction workforce as well, same

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<v Speaker 3>as residents of San Antonio. And we know in this

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<v Speaker 3>period of time when there's an extensive amount of capital investment,

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<v Speaker 3>a lot of construction going on, there is a need

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<v Speaker 3>for construction workers, there is need for manufacturing workers. And

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<v Speaker 3>we put a lot of our own resources, including resources

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<v Speaker 3>from Vice President Harrison, President Biden, to help us continue

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<v Speaker 3>to build the skills in our workforce to make sure

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<v Speaker 3>that we can fill those jobs.

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<v Speaker 4>Well, I'm curious, I mean, how do you sort of

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<v Speaker 4>building on what Matt was asking about following the law here,

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<v Speaker 4>how do you ensure that there's going to be fair wages,

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<v Speaker 4>safe working conditions when workers are both documented and undocumented.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, every single job is obviously regulated, and unfortunately we

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<v Speaker 3>can't change Texas law. Unfortunately hasn't changed with regard to

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<v Speaker 3>minimum wage in twenty some odd years. But you know,

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<v Speaker 3>we make sure that we work with all industries to

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<v Speaker 3>ensure that folks are you know, gainful employed, but are

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<v Speaker 3>also that employers are treating their employees correctly and also

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<v Speaker 3>you know they're properly working with all of the laws

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<v Speaker 3>and regulations in the area.

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<v Speaker 1>I want to ask about housing prices. I was looking

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<v Speaker 1>at the FREDDIEMAC House price index for San Antonio, and indeed,

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<v Speaker 1>you see a spike in home prices right as soon

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<v Speaker 1>as you see a spike in immigration at the start

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<v Speaker 1>of the Biden administration. The two seem very correlated. How

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<v Speaker 1>are you doing it keeping housing affordable for your residence?

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<v Speaker 3>Well, I'm not going to slip into that kind of

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<v Speaker 3>correlation equals causation. The idea that migration has called the

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<v Speaker 3>cause the spike and housing price is absolutely absurd. What

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<v Speaker 3>we've seen is a tightening of the supply chains. We've

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<v Speaker 3>seen a tightening of the labor markets. This is worldwide phenomenon.

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<v Speaker 3>But we also know that housing prices are going up

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<v Speaker 3>because people are coming to our city from California, from Illinois,

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<v Speaker 3>from Texas itself. We're a great city to live in

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<v Speaker 3>and that's made us very desirable. We've had a strategic

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<v Speaker 3>housing implementation plan in place that we've been implementing to

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<v Speaker 3>make sure that the housing market is stable and it's healthy.

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<v Speaker 3>Of course, housing costs have gone up roughly twenty five

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<v Speaker 3>percent over the last four or five years, but relative

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<v Speaker 3>to some of our peer cities, we're doing a good

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<v Speaker 3>job and making sure that there's a healthy supply to

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<v Speaker 3>the demand in housing, and that comes in all forms

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<v Speaker 3>and types. We know we need more rental housing for

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<v Speaker 3>young professionals and students, but we also need home ownership

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<v Speaker 3>options for people who are moving into their professional prime

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<v Speaker 3>careers and also retiring in our city. But we have

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<v Speaker 3>a good, healthy housing market in San Antonio. Of course,

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<v Speaker 3>we're in the midst of a housing crisis worldwide. We're

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<v Speaker 3>doing what we can to make sure it continues to

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<v Speaker 3>be sustainable and healthy.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, mister Mayor, thanks very much for your time.

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<v Speaker 1>Really appreciated. Mayor of San Antonio, Ron Nuremberg.

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<v Speaker 2>There