McALLEN — To reduce illegal immigration from Mexico, federal officials need to build more bridges across the border — not fences — said Tamaulipas Gov. Eugenio Hernandez on Wednesday.

“In Tamaulipas, we have many bridges with Texas and we are building more,” Hernandez said during an address to about 120 people during a Texas Border Coalition luncheon at the McAllen Convention Center.

“But just as important as these physical bridges are the economic, political and cultural bridges that we are given.”

Hernandez talked about how during the 1980s, Spain’s economy lagged behind other Western European countries and many people attempted to illegally emigrate elsewhere.

But rather than isolating Spain from the rest of Europe, Hernandez said other countries helped build Spain’s economy and the immigration problems subsided.

The United States ought to consider such a plan rather than building a border fence, Hernandez said.

“I know that many of the leaders here are looking for a solution and are working hard to change the political perception from building a wall to building more bridges,” he said.

Building a fence along the border would waste billions of dollars that could be better spent on improving border security, according to local leaders.

McAllen Mayor Richard Cortez favors improving border security, but he said greater scrutiny by homeland security officials at U.S. ports of entry has slowed trade and travel between the two countries.

“That ultimately hurts the American economy, not just the border economy,” he said.

Harlingen Mayor Chris Boswell said while Mexicans and Americans are “all in favor of border security,” building a barrier would not stop illegal entries into the United States.

“The wall is not going to do what they think it is going to do,” he said. “It’s not going to prevent illegal immigration.”

Jared Taylor covers Edinburg, the Delta region and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4439.