San Luis council split over removing Port of Entry taxi stand

San Luis councilmembers left taxi drivers and transborder students in limbo after a heated meeting over removing the longstanding taxi stand on Urtuzuastegui Street near the San Luis Port of Entry. The action would eliminate taxi stands from public rights-of-way in the port area and could force cab drivers who have worked the same spots for more than 40 years to relocate ahead of a March 20 deadline tied to federal action.

At the Feb. 26 City Council meeting, councilmembers voted on the proposed repeal of the municipal code language that allows taxi stands. One account of the session says the council voted twice: the first vote failed and a second vote ended in a tie, meaning the measure did not pass. A conflicting account holds that the council approved the plan and established March 20, 2026, as the date for drivers to clear the area, with fines of up to $250 for noncompliance. City meeting minutes and official documents will need to resolve which outcome is authoritative.

Mayor Nieves Riedel told the council the matter ultimately falls under federal authority and indicated the federal government has set March 20, 2026, as the removal date. City officials have also described the changes as responses to federal requirements; Francia Alonso of the City of San Luis said, “the changes are being driven by federal requirements.” City leaders have framed the broader project as a port-area beautification and traffic upgrade that has been in planning since 2023.

Taxi drivers at the meeting and outside the port warned of real-world consequences for commuters. One translated driver quote carried at the meeting warned, “We don’t want to do this, but if we need to, we are going to protest. They are going to feel the pressure. We are going to stop our operations. Students will be late to school or not go to school. Workers are going to ask where we are. We just want a solution. That’s it.” Another driver said in Spanish, “I feel frustrated. My family depends on this job. We have to be here for 10 to 12 hours to get a decent amount of money to eat.” Photographs at the port show two students boarding a taxi on Feb. 26 and driver Juan Escobedo waiting in his taxi on Feb. 25, underscoring daily reliance by dozens of transborder students.

City officials argue the taxi stands have become an “eyesore” and a “safety hazard” and say the beautification project will include 14 new traffic lanes to better accommodate border traffic. Signs prohibiting parking have begun appearing on curbs and corners drivers use to pick up customers, raising immediate enforcement questions for drivers who depend on those spots.

Councilmember Luis Cabrera criticized the meeting’s public-process handling, saying a taxi driver in the audience was denied an opportunity to speak: “One of the taxi drivers who was present in the audience requested to speak, but unfortunately Mayor Riedel denied his request while the item was being debated. It wasn’t fair for them not to have a voice when this directly affects taxi drivers and their families. The city could have held a work session with them and invited the entire council. Cutting them out of the equation and not giving them the chance to speak was wrong.”

With conflicting accounts of the council’s action and a federal-linked March 20 date circulating, the next steps for drivers and commuters hinge on the publication of the Feb. 26 meeting record, any written city ordinance or resolution, and any federal communication that specifies removal or construction timelines. The outcome will determine whether longstanding pick-up points on Urtuzuastegui Street remain, and how dozens of students and hourly taxi workers will reach school and jobs in the weeks ahead.