New Homes Mcallen

Mexican violence spurs wealthy toward US investments

MCALLEN — Rosendo Gonzalez sought a way for his family to leave Mexico when his wife was robbed at gunpoint.

A self-made businessman with a close-knit family, Gonzalez, 47, is one of a number of wealthy Mexican nationals looking to escape a violence-torn country who are taking advantage of a U.S. immigration program that promises green cards in return for investment.

Gonzalez intends to spend up to $5 million opening an Hidalgo County-based plastics factory that will complement the one he founded in Monterrey when he was 27. The investment will help Gonzalez, who has had permanent residency here since he was a child, bring his family to the United States.

“My heart is still over there with my family,” Gonzalez said April 15 during a trip to look at a warehouse he is considering purchasing. “I have to do something to get my family out.”

Intrigued by the EB-5 program, dozens of Mexican families are traveling across the border to a nondescript McAllen office building.

Marketed throughout Mexico as USA Now, the office is one of six regional centers in Texas for the EB-5 investor visa, an immigration program launched two decades ago to stimulate economic activity by encouraging foreign nationals to invest at least $500,000 and create at least 10 jobs . U.S. businessmen with bold plans are using the program to raise capital for ventures ranging from construction of an NBA basketball arena in Brooklyn to expansions of Vermont ski resorts.

But in McAllen, rich Mexican nationals are lured more by the potential for a green card than for profit.

The USA Now Regional Center has secured $83 million in commitments from Mexican investors since it received a license to operate in late March, said Marco Ramirez, the company director who is ambitiously seeking $150 million for his fund within its first year of operation. Ramirez declined to discuss the specifics of his investment opportunities but said he offers funds for health care, property management and green energy.

An energetic entrepreneur who says he never would have discovered the EB-5 program if his floor covering business hadn’t closed in the recession, Ramirez’s schedule is packed each day pitching his program to Mexican families seeking legal residency in the U.S. away from the routine violence that continues to plague Mexico.

Targeted because of their wealth and community stature, most of his families have paid street taxes to operate their business. Others have been robbed at gunpoint in their homes or prepaid ransoms to prevent kidnappings.

McAllen Considers Lawsuit Against Water District - McAllen News ...

City Commissioners may file a public records lawsuit against Hidalgo County Water Improvement District 3 during their Monday meeting.

City Attorney Kevin Pagan and Brendan Hall, a Harlingen-based attorney working for McAllen, have filed numerous public information requests with the water district seeking everything from water data to payroll records. During interviews last week, Pagan and Othal E. Brand Jr., the water district’s president and general manager, said the dispute centers on W2 and 1099 forms for district employees.

It would be the latest twist in the seemingly endless city-water district saga . In late January, McAllen asked Austin lawmakers for permission to dissolve the water district and fold its operations into the McAllen Public Utility.

The move, essentially a hostile takeover of one government entity by another, has sparked a water war of sorts. Both sides have hired lobbyists , argued at legislative hearings and even participated in a public forum.

McAllen wants the tax forms, but Brand said he’s been told by the water district’s legal counsel and the Texas Attorney General’s Office those document aren’t public records. Pagan said McAllen disagrees, and thinks those records (with sensible redactions, which would remove Social Security Numbers and other sensitive information) should be public.

If city commissioners decide to file a lawsuit, I’ll announce their decision on Twitter. Follow me @McAllenDave .

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