In 2019, a historic theater’s marquee in McAllen’s downtown district once lauded, “Welcome to McAllen, 7th Safest city in America.”
The theater placed the message front and center ahead of a visit from President Donald Trump during his first term in office, using it to dispute the narrative at the time that the border was a dangerous place. The ranking itself came from a 2015 study by Smart Asset, a financial technology website.











