Remote Surveillance Trailer in Calexico, CA

CALEXICO — The city of Calexico held a groundbreaking ceremony here Friday for its new Intermodal Transportation Center.

The Center, located at Third St. and Heffernan Ave., will replace the nearby bus stop and “provide a centralized location for multimodal transportation opportunities such as micro transits, taxis, regional and local transit services and private regional transportation services,” according to Imperial County Transportation Commission chairman Robert Amparano.

Amparano said the ITC will include new “benches, shades, lighting, signage, technology and public restrooms” and praised the “customer service, enhanced security and infrastructure” it will provide. He said the facility will also include electric vehicle charging equipment and break rooms for drivers. In addition to these improvements, Amparano said the ITC will have new ADA infrastructure and improved sidewalks.

“The improvements will promote active transportation, increase the use of public transportation, expand mobility options and provide much needed relief during warm summer months,” Amparano said. “Those shade structures will be invaluable.”

David Aguirre, the executive director of the Imperial County Transportation Commission, explained that ICTC developed and implemented the Calexico ITC, one of its public transit operations and infrastructure projects.

“The Calexico ITC aims to be one of our greatest achievements as it will be the Imperial County’s largest and most robust transit center,” Aguirre said. “It is also important to note that the new facility is in the heart of downtown Calexico and just minutes away from the Calexico Port of Entry pedestrian crossing. This further allows us to deliver our resources to the areas that need it the most.”

Amparano said that this project has been in development since 2013 and noted that ICTC received grants from Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) and the Regional Early Action Planning 2.0 CTC partnership program to complete it.

Congressman Raul Ruiz said that the transportation center will provide “improved connectivity” in the city and explained that farm worker buses can use it to stop, pick up passengers and then continue to job sites. He noted the center will provide bicycle racks for bike commuters as well as the EV charging station, a meaningful addition in a region Ruiz described as an EV desert.

“It’ll reduce congestion, provide a safer and secure transportation experience — basically a one-stop mobility hub and bus transfer terminal,” Ruiz said. “This is not just a bricks and mortar infrastructure project. It’s about constructing a brighter future for our constituents, a future where transportation is no longer a barrier.”

Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) executive director Kome Ajise praised the project as a way of revitalizing Calexico’s downtown in an international metropolitan area.

“The reason that’s one of the busiest bus stops is because we have a population across the border that engages on this side, and we cannot discount that,” Ajise said. “That’s part of our regional economy. We’re really glad to be part of this project that is implementing our long-range vision — a long range vision of improving access to transportation, improving safety on our streets and creating more sustainable travel choices.”

Calexico mayor Diana Nuricumbo praised the project as an essential one for the city.

“The city of Calexico is one of the gateways into the golden state and it is our vision that our city is one that is welcoming, beautiful, and a fitting representation of this great nation, and our surrounding Imperial County and its charming cities,” Nuricumbo said. “It's part of our vision to beautify our city and our historic downtown. The initiation of this project couldn't have come at a better time.”

ICTC representatives and local dignitaries posed with a $4.1 million check representing the government’s investment in the project. They then donned blue hard hats and picked up golden shovels to conduct the official groundbreaking for the ITC.

CALEXICO, CA – U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists (CBPAS) assigned to the Calexico cargo facility intercepted a rare pest while conducting an examination of a cargo shipment.

On January 8th, 2025, a shipment containing red and green leaf lettuce arrived at the Calexico cargo facility. During an initial inspection of the shipment, a CBP officer referred the driver and cargo for an intensive agriculture inspection.

While inspecting the cargo, a CBP agriculture specialist discovered an unusual insect within the lettuce leaves. The pest was submitted to the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service for further identification. Using appropriate precautionary measures, CBPASs then returned the shipment and driver to Mexico.

On February 5th, 2025, a final identification of the pest was made as Campiglossa peregrina which is part of the fruit fly family. This species has not been recorded in the USDA pest identification database, qualifying this discovery as a first across all ports in the nation. This find demonstrates CBP’s efforts to prevent invasive species from entering the United States.

“Discovering a first-of-its-kind pest in our nation is a remarkable achievement. Our agriculture specialists’ role will continue to aid in safeguarding our environment and agriculture.” stated Roque Caza Port Director for the Area Port of Calexico.

Travelers and industries who wish to import flowers, plant materials, and other agricultural items should visit the Bringing Agricultural Products into the United States section of CBP’s website for ways to prevent conveyance contamination. CBP encourages travelers to declare all agricultural items to a CBP officer upon arrival.

Follow the Director of CBP’s San Diego Field Office on X at @DFOSanDiegoCA for breaking news, current events, human interest stories and photos.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is America's frontline: the nation's largest law enforcement organization and the world's first unified border management agency. The 65,000+ men and women of CBP protect America on the ground, in the air, and on the seas. We facilitate safe, lawful travel and trade and ensure our country's economic prosperity. We enhance the nation's security through innovation, intelligence, collaboration, and trust.

The Calexico, El Centro, and Heber community is in the Imperial County Air Pollution Control District (ICAPCD). The communities of Calexico, El Centro and Heber represent an industrial corridor that extends north from the U.S.-Mexico border. The community bears a high traffic density burden as well as impacts from agriculture and stationary source emissions.

The Calexico, Heber, El Centro community has an area of 158 square miles with a population of about 98,000. In 2017, an average of 12,080 passenger vehicles crossed the border into Calexico per day. Additionally, there are two large stationary sources in the community, a power generation facility and a cement facility, along with warehouses and small industrial operations. Agricultural activities, unpaved roads, and animal feedlots are additional sources in this region, along with a rail line that runs between the three areas. Sensitive receptors in the community include 52 schools, 43 licensed daycare facilities, and 1 hospital. The community experiences some of the highest rates of poverty and unemployment in the region, and the rate of pediatric asthma-related emergency rooms visits is twice the State average.

In 2018, the Community was nominated by the District and selected by CARB as a monitoring community. The District published the Imperial County Year 1 Community Air Monitoring Plan for the El Centro-Heber-Calexico Corridor in September 2019.

The Community Air Monitoring Plan identifies areas of interest for AB 617 monitoring such as stationary and mobile sources, monitoring site locations, sampling schedules, and types of equipment and strategies. The plan was designed to obtain detailed air pollution levels through the Community, determine areas in the community of highest risk, quantify sources of air pollution within the community, and to position the Community to develop emissions reduction strategies and monitor the effectiveness of those strategies.

CARB and the District have historically implemented air monitoring which includes regulatory monitoring in Imperial County. The AB 617 community air monitoring plan is specifically designed with the community steering committee input to measure and collect localized and elevated air pollution levels data. The District considered health statistics, air quality concerns from residents in multiple communities, as well as screening tools that combine environmental, health, and socio-economic information to calculate community-wide risk factors in the planning and implementation of community air monitoring. Community-level expertise through steering committee meetings and input from a broad range of stakeholders supported the District's development of this plan.

The collection of comprehensive air quality data is essential to develop emissions reduction plans and strategies. The monitoring data will be provided to CARB once available and can be downloadable on AQView where monitoring data from other AB 617 community air monitoring plans are also included.

The Imperial County Air Pollution Control District (ICAPCD) partnered with Comite Civico del Valle, Inc. (CCV) as co-leads to convene a community steering committee and develop the Imperial County Year 1 Community Emissions Reduction Program Plan for the El Centro-Heber-Calexico Corridor (Plan). Prior to the Board of Supervisors’ approval of the Plan, ICAPCD and CCV also hosted two workshops in June 2019 to allow the public to have an opportunity to learn about the requirements and implementation of AB 617, local and state agency roles, as well as the development of the Plan. During these meetings, the community steering committee helped identify key community concerns for the Plan to address, including:

The Plan focuses on reducing exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and toxic air contaminants (TACs) from these sources. The community steering committee, ICAPCD, and CCV identified 28 emission reduction strategies

Community engagement is a key part of the AB 617 program. Air districts are responsible for convening a community steering committee using an open and transparent nomination process. Community steering committees create new, and foster existing, local partnerships which drive the AB 617 program. In this advisory role, community steering committees oversee the development and implementation of the program such as in community identification, community air monitoring, and community emissions reduction programs. The steering committee aims to identify metrics, track progress, solicit, and share information with the Calexico, El Centro, Heber community. The current Community Steering Committee was selected representing a diverse range of community viewpoints.

The current Community Steering Committee charter describes the Calexico, El Centro, Heber Community Steering Committee membership process, how meetings are conducted, and how information is made available to its members and the public.

Annual progress reports are completed by the District. Qualitative and quantitative progress assessments as well as status updates from interim milestones identified by the CARB Governing Board are available in the annual progress report and accompanying metric workbooks. A detailed update for each strategy can also be found here as it is made available.