This week, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) hosted a dedication ceremony to officially designate the United States Customs and Border Protection Port of Entry located at First Street and Pan American Avenue in Douglas, Arizona, as the “Raul Hector Castro Port of Entry”, in honor of the former Governor of Arizona.
Earlier this year, several members of the Arizona Congressional Delegation, introduced a bill, which was later signed into law by President Obama, renaming the Douglas Land Port of Entry in honor of Governor Castro.
The event included the official unveiling of the port’s new signage and a dedication ceremony which featured remarks from guest speakers from the federal, state and local governments, and the Castro family. The Castro family also received an American flag which was flown in Governor Castro’s honor over the capitol in Washington DC, the Arizona state capitol building, Douglas City Hall, and at the port of entry which now bears his name.
The Raul Hector Castro Port of Entry is the second largest commercial port in the state of Arizona. In calendar year 2014, the port of entry processed over 33,000 commercial truck arrivals. The value of imported goods at Douglas during calendar year 2014 was just over $1 billion. Additionally, the port processed more than 1.5 million arriving cars and over 930,000 pedestrians in CY2014, for a combined total of over 3.8 million arriving passengers and pedestrians.
Governor Castro was born in Cananea, Sonora, Mexico but grew up in Pirtleville, near Douglas, Arizona where he overcame considerable challenges to become a respected Superior Court judge, astute politician and seasoned diplomat. In his illustrious and distinguished career, Castro had the distinction of being the first Mexican-American to serve as Governor for the State of Arizona as well as Ambassador to El Salvador, Bolivia and Argentina.