When the Barreo family left Mexico for the United States, they were seeking a better life for their children- a life with educational and employment opportunities.

"There are better opportunities here (El Paso)," Ana Barreo said. "You earn more money. There are also more opportunities for the children to evolve as individuals. It was difficult because we left many relatives behind, but our priority is our family."

While the border provides refuge to many immigrants who seek better economic situations, it is also plagued with disparities in education, infrastructure, government funding and high levels of unemployment and underemployment when compared to the rest of Texas and the nation, according to a study by the Texas state comptroller's office.

With the state capital 576 miles away and Washington, D.C., almost 2,000 miles away, El Paso is one of the border cities that are often overlooked by lawmakers, say state and federal representatives.

And that is one reason El Paso and most of the rest of the border region of Texas have high poverty rates, lower education rates and higher unemployment rates than the rest of the country.

"If you look at income trends in El Paso, you will see that real per capita income increases consistently but not as much as the state level, making progress more difficult," said Tom Fullerton, a UTEP professor and economist.

As state and federal representatives tout the promise of growth, El Paso County finds itself grappling with insufficient money to support its property-poor school districts, facing higher unemployment rates than the state and national averages and seeking resources to help the 200,000 people - 29.2 percent of the population - living in poverty.

"Bordering the Future: Challenge and Opportunity in the Texas Border Region," a study first conducted by former Texas State Comptroller John Sharp in 1998 and updated in 2001 and 2003, focuses on the border as the 51st state to show various disparities between border cities and the rest of the Texas.

UTEP's Institute for Policy and Economic Development revisited the subject in a 2006 study, which looked at various concerns throughout border counties in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.

It the border region became the 51st state, it would rank first in poverty, according to the 2001 update by the comptroller's office.

"Put in another way, the border region is home to more poor residents than there are in at least 10 other states and the District of Columbia combined," according to the report.

According to UTEP's 2006 report, border counties in four states would rank last in per capita income if San Diego County were not included.

"The border today, and in the past, suffers from a lack of economic investment, support and attention from various state governments and finally attention at the federal level in terms of leaders," said U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas. "I believe that the nation is beginning to see how the border is important in stimulating trade and commerce."

El Paso's unemployment rate averaged 6.9 percent for 2006, below the 2005 average of 7.1 percent, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. The state unemployment average was about 4.9 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

This article was published in Week 3 of the El Paso Times Poverty Series.