Congressman Ruben Gallego made a visit to the San Luis Port of Entry

Gallego hosted a roundtable stakeholder meeting to address border issues - 13 On Your Side's Vanessa Gongora reports

SAN LUIS, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Although Representative Ruben Gallego's district covers the Phoenix area, he says whatever happens in Yuma eventually gets to Phoenix, so what happens at the Port of San Luis matters.

Gallego said he came to talk to city experts, like the Mayor of San Luis Gerardo Sanchez, to gain deeper knowledge of the border.

One of his concerns about the port of entry is the short staffing and size of the port, saying it needs to be bigger.

"We at the Federal Government need to step up and actually match the needs of the professional staff that are there," says Rep. Gallego.

And that they are, with more than 100 million federal dollars to build a new Port of Entry in San Luis that will bring more jobs within the next five years, according to San Luis City Council Member Matias Rosales.

Representative Gallego says the border comes with different challenges, especially with asylum seekers.

"Look, I think that border issues number one is very complex and I think this is being oversimplified by both sides and you're going to have to have a long-term solution in terms of comprehensive immigration reform," explains Gallego. "We're going to have a long-term solution when it comes to asylum seekers. Them being able to apply for asylum in their home countries and you know, clogging up the process here and we need to have a long-term solution in terms of border security too."

Gallego says the border and economy go hand in hand, so they have to be an important focus for state and federal leaders.