Mexicali commuters help relieve the burden on housing

We don’t boast beach-front property, a lot of fancy architecture or many postcard views. What we also don’t have, I believe, is a housing crisis in any way approaching that of the rest of California.

Certainly, that’s not to say many residents aren’t struggling to make ends meet. We have low wages, high unemployment rates and scarce job opportunities, caused by low education levels. Salaries are not enough to cover expenses, and people must survive with benefits provided by the so-called safety net — CalFresh, CalWORKS, SSP/SSI, etc.

On the streets one can see hundreds of citizens who are homeless.

A few months ago, the California Budget and Policy Center, citing statistics from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, reported that monthly rent in Imperial County for a two-bedroom apartment ranged from $550 to $999, while the average home cost around $250,000. These figures are modest compared to the rest of the state. Then again, almost anything can seem too expensive at poverty level.

Fortunately, our proximity to the Mexican border has dulled the impact of poor wages for many who work here.

A study released in 2016 by the Mexican think-tank Colegio de la Frontera Norte, or Northern Border College, said 11,706 Mexicali residents cross the border to work here.

The study, written by researcher German Vega Briones in the Urban Demographic Studies report, was based on figures from a sample taken by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, or INEGI in Spanish.

Of those commuters, three quarters were male and the rest female. According to the report, 13 percent of those commuters were born in the United States, 55 percent were high school graduates or had some college education, and an astonishing 87 percent were home owners in Baja California’s capital city.

The study highlighted the fact these binational, bilingual people are taking advantage of the best of both worlds, including cheaper housing costs or lower rent.

For instance, flipping through the Mexicali classified ads, one learns the monthly rent for a two-bedroom residence at Fraccionamiento Residencias subdivision, just west of the Autonomous University of Baja California main campus, costs $600. A four-bedroom, two-bath residence with a twocar garage at Fraccionamiento Hacienda del Real, just south of the police headquarters, sells for about $57,000. And if you are looking for a more exclusive neighborhood, a three-bedroom house at Fraccionamiento Villafontana subdivision is offered for $100,000, while a two-apartment duplex in the same area costs $2,000 less.

All these homes are located in nice areas. That suggests if you are willing to settle for housing a little less upscale in Mexicali, you can probably find it for a song, relatively speaking.

Now, readers might think that those living in Mexicali while being U.S. citizens or permanent residents ought to live and keep their money in the Land of the Free. But the truth is affordable housing here is not guaranteed with their paychecks. The opportunities for a decent living lie beyond our territorial boundaries.

And consider for a moment what would happen if all these commuters were forced to live in the United States. I suspect most would be unable to afford housing, causing a severe crisis in Imperial Valley. Remember, we’re talking about a potential population influx roughly equal to that of the city of Imperial.

Take into consideration these commuters almost equal the population of the city of Imperial. It’s unlikely they would settle for living on the street. That would mean more wear and tear on the so-called safety net, which inevitably turns into a greater burden on taxpayers here.