President Donald Trump signed an order to send 1,500 troops to the border with Mexico to counter the “invasion.” The Pentagon said the military would send planes and helicopters to support the deportation of immigrants. Mexican authorities, to prepare for the influx of migrants expelled from the US, have started building huge tent camps in the city of Ciudad Juarez, Reuters reported. Mexican authorities say they are prepared for the possibility of mass deportations, but independent commentators have doubts about this.
As White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters, Donald Trump “directed the Department of Defense to make homeland security the agency's primary mission.” The new regulation talks about using the army to counter the “invasion” and physically preventing migrants participating in this invasion from crossing the border.
Acting Chief Pentagon Robert Salesses said in a statement that his ministry would provide planes and helicopters to support deportation flights of more than five thousand immigrants from California and Texas.
Trump announced the biggest one in history USA action to deport immigrants without regular status and expelling millions of such people from the country. According to the Mexican think tank El Colegio de la Frontera Norte (COLEF), almost five million Mexicans are in the United States without the required documents.
“Mexico embraces you”
In parallel with the US actions, the Mexican government plans to construct camps and reception centers in nine cities in the northern part of the country. Authorities will provide migrants with food, temporary shelter, medical care and assistance in obtaining identity documents, according to a government document titled “Mexico Embraces You.”
Tent camps in Ciudad Juarez, capable of accommodating tens of thousands of people, are to be established within a few days, said city government representative Enrique Licon on Tuesday. He described the work as “unprecedented.”
Migrants on the Mexican-US borderJUAN MANUEL BLANCO/PAP/EPA
Mexican Foreign Minister Juan Ramon de la Fuente raised the issue of migration and security in his first official, “very cordial” telephone conversation with the new US Secretary of State Mark Rubio, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum told journalists on Wednesday.
Experts warn of 'serious economic disruption'
Mexican authorities say they are prepared for the possibility of mass deportations, but independent commentators have doubts about this. They fear that Trump's measures could quickly overwhelm border cities, Reuters reported.
Given weak economic growth forecasts this year, Mexico may have difficulty absorbing millions of citizens deported from the U.S., and a decline in remittances from Mexicans in the United States could cause “serious economic disruption” in some areas, said a retired University of California, San Francisco lecturer. Diego Wayne Cornelius.
Main photo source: JUAN MANUEL BLANCO/PAP/EPA