Mexican border states prepare migrant shelters as Trump begins deportation campaign

By MARTÍN SILVA REY and FÉLIX MÁRQUEZ

CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Mexico (AP) — Mexico raised sprawling tents connected the U.S. borderline Wednesday arsenic it braced for President Donald Trump to fulfill his pledge to reverse wide migration.

In an bare batch choky against the borderline with El Paso, Texas, cranes lifted metallic frames for structure shelters successful Ciudad Juárez. Nogales, Mexico — crossed from Nogales, Arizona — announced that it would physique shelters connected shot fields and successful a gymnasium. The borderline cities of Matamoros and Piedras Negras person launched akin efforts.

At a borderline crossing successful Tijuana, Mexico, connected Tuesday night, 1 antheral shouted to journalists that helium was being deported successful a radical that was arrested that greeting successful workplace fields adjacent Denver. Another antheral said helium was successful a radical that had been brought from Oregon. Everyone carried their belongings successful a tiny orangish bag.

Neither man’s relationship could beryllium independently confirmed.

The fig of radical deported Tuesday was little than the regular mean of astir 500 past year, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum noted astatine her regular property briefing. Quickly ramping up deportations — arsenic Trump pledges — faces logistical and fiscal challenges.

Beyond the tents, the Mexican authorities is gathering 9 shelters successful borderline cities to person deportees. It has said that it would besides usage existing facilities successful Tijuana, Ciudad Juarez and Matamoros, to instrumentality successful migrants whose appointments to petition asylum successful the U.S. were canceled connected Inauguration Day.

Sheinbaum has said that Mexico volition springiness humanitarian assistance to migrants from different countries whose asylum appointments were cancelled, arsenic good arsenic those sent to hold successful her federation nether the revived argumentation known arsenic Remain successful Mexico. Mexico wants to yet and voluntarily instrumentality them to their nations, she has said.

Mexican Foreign Affairs Secretary Juan Ramón de la Fuente and caller U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held their archetypal telephone speech successful their caller positions.

“It was a precise bully conversation, precise cordial, they talked astir migration and information issues,” Sheinbaum said.

After pledging to dramatically displacement borderline and migration policies, connected Monday Trump scrapped the programme known arsenic CBP One that allowed asylum seekers to docket appointments connected their phones earlier arriving astatine the border, providing a grade of order. On Wednesday, the Pentagon announced it was sending up to 1,500 active-duty troops to the border.

At the Good Samaritan structure successful Ciudad Juarez, the Rev. Juan Fierro was preparing for yet different change.

In caller years helium has seen the shelter’s colonisation alteration from young men crossing a wall-less borderline for enactment to families seeking asylum. During Trump’s archetypal term, the argumentation of making asylum seekers hold retired the U.S. process successful Mexico meant that radical stayed astatine the structure overmuch longer, up to 3 years, Fierro said.

Now he’s getting acceptable for Trump’s promised wide deportations. His structure fits 180 radical and tin provender astir 50, helium said. With overmuch little migration numbers implicit the past year, helium lone had a fraction of that fig this week and is disquieted astir an expected rise.

“This structure doesn’t person the budget, we’re practically time to day,” Fierro said.

The Mexican authorities volition autobus immoderate deportees to their homes successful Mexico’s interior. Fierro said he’ll springiness deportees a mates of months to deliberation astir whether to instrumentality home, look for enactment successful different Mexican authorities oregon effort to re-enter the U.S.

“The radical who privation to marque it to the United States are going to look for the mode to bash it,” helium said.

Márquez reported from Tijuana, Mexico. AP reporters Megan Janetsky and María Verza successful Mexico City contributed to this report.