In Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, the government is building large tent shelters to get ready for many Mexicans who might be deported from the United States. These temporary shelters can hold thousands of people and should be finished in a few days, according to local official Enrique Licon.
“It’s unprecedented,” Licon said while workers unloaded metal frames from trucks near the Rio Grande, the river that separates Ciudad Juarez from El Paso, Texas.
This effort is part of Mexico’s plan to set up shelters in nine northern cities. These centers will provide deported Mexicans with food, a place to sleep, medical care, and help with getting identification documents. The government also plans to have buses ready to take people back to their hometowns.
U.S. President Donald Trump has promised the largest deportation program in history, which could involve millions of immigrants. However, carrying out such a big operation could take years and cost a lot of money. According to a Mexican research group, about five million Mexicans live in the U.S. without permission. Many come from areas in Mexico that struggle with violence and poverty.
Some immigration advocates are worried that things might get out of control. They think that with the new deportations and Trump’s rules that make it harder for people to enter the U.S., Mexico’s border cities might be overwhelmed. Recently, the U.S. stopped a program called CBP One, which let some migrants legally enter the U.S. On top of that, they restarted the Migrant Protection Protocols, which required asylum seekers to stay in Mexico while waiting for their cases to be looked at.
Jose Luis Perez, a Mexican official in Tijuana, expressed concerns about whether Mexico was ready for this new situation. He said the government might not be prepared to help everyone coming back. Later, after making these comments, he was fired from his position.
Mexico’s Interior Minister Rosa Icela assured that the country would do everything it can to help returning citizens. However, with a slow economy, many believe Mexico may have a hard time handling huge numbers of deported people. A drop in money sent back by migrants living in the U.S. could also hurt towns in Mexico that rely on this income.
On Thursday night in Ciudad Juarez, soldiers began setting up an industrial kitchen in the new shelter so they could feed the returning Mexicans.
