Imperial Valley cities , chambers of commerce and several other agencies have joined the County of Imperial in asking Governor Newsom to advance the state to Expanded Stage Two and allow counties to determine when it is safe to reopen businesses.

The letter states that because of our unique geographic location it makes it extremely difficult to meet current reopening guidelines. The letter , put together by the Imperial Valley Business Recovery Task Force , echoes what the County Board of Supervisors said earlier in the week. Imperial County borders Arizona to the east , a state that has opened up all businesses , and Mexicali , Baja California , a city of over 1 million residents , with few restrictions. The letter points out that the governor's " one-size-fits-all " state guidelines for emerging out of the pandemic can be unjust.

Singing the letter were the Cities of Brawley , Calipatria , El Centro , Imperial , Holtville and Calexico as well as the chambers of commerce from Westmorland , Brawley , El Centro and Imperial. The Imperial County Farm Bureau , Imperial Valley Economic Development Corporation , the Imperial County Workforce Development Board and the Small Business Development Center also endorsed the letter.