Mexican authorities have begun building huge tent shelters in the city of Ciudad Juarez to prepare for a possible influx of Mexicans deported as part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s promised mass deportations.
The temporary shelters in Ciudad Juarez will be able to accommodate thousands of people and should be ready in the coming days, city official Enrique Licon said.
“This is unprecedented,” Licon said on January 21 as workers unloaded long metal frames from tractor trailers parked in a large empty lot a few meters from the Rio Grande, which separates the city from El Paso, Texas.
The tents in Ciudad Juarez are part of a Mexican government plan to set up shelters and reception centers in nine cities in northern Mexico, Reuters reported.
Authorities in the area will provide deported Mexicans with food, temporary housing, medical care and assistance with obtaining identification documents, according to a government document outlining a strategy called “Mexico Welcomes You.”
The government also plans to have buses ready to transport Mexicans from detention centers back to their hometowns.
Trump has promised to carry out the largest deportation drive in U.S. history, removing millions of immigrants. However, an operation of that magnitude would likely take years and be extremely expensive.
According to an analysis by Mexico’s El Colegio de la Frontera Norte (Colef), nearly five million Mexicans are living in the U.S. without authorization, according to recent U.S. census data.
Photo: Jean Guerrero
