EL PASO — When the reopening of the border was announced, some residents and business leaders celebrated what felt like a coming return to normalcy. But workers like Jesus “Chuy” Ramírez went into a funk, worried about the future of their thriving businesses.

“The pandemic has been good for my business,” said Ramírez, a landscaper, explaining that costs for his services, from cutting lawns to fixing pools, increased by an average of $20 per job because there’s a scarcity of workers. That’s unheard of in a city long known for the normally plentiful pipeline of Mexican laborers who are willing to work for less.

“I’m glad we’re reopening because I, too, miss friends and family. But I just hope we, on both sides of the border, value the worth of our work,” Ramírez said.

There are winners and losers as U.S. border cities eagerly prepare for the return of fully vaccinated Mexican shoppers on Monday. Workers have been considered nonessential travelers since March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The vast majority of Mexicans have been barred from crossing for jobs. But those Mexicans who have been able to circumnavigate the closure and remain in the U.S. have, for nearly 20 months, been in high demand.

Many say they have felt pampered by their employers. They have special border permits that allow them to shop and to visit relatives and friends, and many also work as domestic workers, gardeners, in construction and in other jobs. They began expecting more for their work and were rewarded with higher pay.

Ruth, a domestic worker, decided to stay behind in El Paso when the border closed, working for a family she had known for 10 years. She spoke on the condition that her last name not be used because she is not authorized to work in the U.S. Initially, she doubted her decision, concerned for her family across the border and unsure when she’d see them again. Yet every time she planned to return to Ciudad Juárez, another job opportunity opened up; she cared for the elderly, babysat and cleaned houses. She has 10 new clients.

Now she’s worried about what will happen next.

Some of her employers “have told me they’re just waiting for their muchachas to cross again,” she said. She’ll lose those jobs. “That’s part of living on the border.”

Tight labor market

The reopening offers a peek into the larger story of a nation grappling with a tight labor market, said Jesus Cañas, senior business economist and specialist on the U.S.-Mexico border at the Dallas Federal Reserve. The possibility of more workers in the labor market, especially in Texas, where the birth rate has declined more than 21% since 2007, could be a relief for a state where there is already a shortage of workers.

It also comes at a key moment, as the holidays approach and labor shortages grow, he said.

“The advantage we have along the border is that we can sometimes save from utilizing labor from across the international bridge, and in some cases, they may push wages down for some occupations,” Cañas said. “But the reopening, in general, represents great timing for retail shops and restaurants. I would imagine that in a tight labor market, it’s gonna definitely help some of these businesses.”

The reopening is also expected to impact the service industry, construction and the energy sector, where shortages abound, Cañas said.

For oil worker Daniel Hernández and his colleagues, the news of the reopening is a relief. Hernández, 28, is from Chihuahua City, Mexico. He lost his job during the pandemic. Through a friend, he found out that oil extractor workers were needed in Amarillo. He used his U.S. tourist visa to fly from Chihuahua City to Amarillo via Dallas — the exact route that many workers have used to get around land border restrictions — to try his luck.

He immediately found a job. His company still has 10 positions open. Companies are hoping other workers from Mexico will soon be arriving, too.

“We have a lot of work. I know people from my city who are just waiting to come and work because not everyone can afford to take a plane, so I am glad we are going to get that extra help,” said Hernandez.

He conceded that his tourist visa is not supposed to allow foreigners to work in the U.S. The labor market says otherwise.

“Well, what can we do? We need to feed our families, and here no one wants to work, so we have to do it,” he said. “We are not ‘stealing’ jobs. We are helping.”

Others, like Mayra, 32, aren’t so sure. Initially, she found plenty of customers willing to pay whatever amount she asked for cleaning their homes due to the shortage of workers in El Paso. But these days, just like Ruth, she is afraid the return of other workers will mean she’ll be going back to lower wages.

Before the pandemic, she earned about $9 an hour. Now she is making $15 an hour, which allows her to pay for a better daycare for her 3-year-old. She spoke on the condition that her last name not be used because she worries about losing access to the tourist visas that allow her to remain in the U.S. She is not authorized to work in this country.

“All I hope is that employers value my work and understand that my work is essential,” she said. “It’s necessary that they pay us fairly. It’s not the same living here and spending dollars, than living in Mexico and spending pesos,” said Mayra, a mother of three who has been living in the U.S. for four years.

While worries about her future wages, she also can’t wait for the border to reopen so she can hug her mother, whom she hasn’t seen in almost two years.

“El sol sale para todos,” she said. The sun rises for everyone.

Hoping for more

Even as the restrictions are being lifted, some local leaders are criticizing the Biden administration for only allowing the fully vaccinated into the U.S. and squandering an opportunity to vaccinate more people, especially in a region that looks at itself as one binational labor market.

“I’m excited but it’s not what we all want,” El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego said. “I think by opening the bridges completely to nonessential travelers it is a great opportunity to address the root cause of the situation because we are really one community and we have enough vaccines to share with Ciudad Juárez.

“For this community to get back to normal, both sides have to be vaccinated,” he said.

In Laredo, Gerald “Gerry” Schwebel, executive vice president at IBC Bank, says that although Customs Border Protection officers say they’re ready for the reopening, “I remain concerned there is no plan and that the lifting of restrictions will create a possible chaos or disruption.”

He said he is also concerned about the huge backlog of visa renewal applications in the U.S. Consulate office, which will delay thousands of crossers from immediately resuming their routines.

“We can’t just flip the switch and say, ‘OK, now you’re welcomed,’ ” he said. “It’s not so easy.”

But downtown El Paso vendors are jubilant. Government assistance helped many get through tough times, they say, but they see the reopening as a sign that North America is in a new phase in the recovery from the pandemic.

“Yay! We’re so happy,” said Helen Weng, one of dozens of Chinese and Korean business owners in downtown El Paso, mimicking the sound of cash registers. “Ching ching.”

“We’re all excited that they’re going to open the bridges because it’s the perfect time of the year,” added Samuel Lara, an employee at a store about half a block from the international bridge. “With the return of Mexicans, we can really have a Merry Christmas.”

A return to normalcy

The reopening also represents a glimpse of hope for people who usually depend on their own creativity and ingenuity to make a living.

Luis Hernández owns Border Bus, a transportation company that picks up children from the ports of entry to take them to school. He started in 2016 with a single 15-passenger van.

Many families in Juárez opt to have their children attend schools in the U.S. Since not all parents can cross the border to take them to school because of visa or time concerns, Hernández’s business began to thrive.

But when schools transitioned to online instruction in March 2020, Hernández lost his only form of income, forcing him to get a new job while waiting for schools to reopen.

“Right now, we have about 45 kids,” said Hernández, explaining that his business is still affected by the pandemic because some schools are still operating remotely.

Increased traffic and long lines to cross the bridge have been a recent cause of concern for many daily commuters traveling from El Paso to Ciudad Juarez, even as they already face headaches with ongoing construction on Interstate 10. Wait times are expected to increase at the U.S. ports of entry.

While many can’t wait to return to their jobs in El Paso, others just want to shop.

Glenda Ávalos, 25, a publicist who works in Juárez, has not been able to cross the border since she graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso last May because she is a Mexican citizen. Waiting in line, even if it is for hours, is not going to be a problem for her.

“Right now I can only think about the good things that this decision will bring to our community,” said Ávalos, adding that she is excited to see some of her closest friends and shop again. “I think the new requirements to cross are fair, because we’re still in a pandemic.”