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McALLEN - 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.