Mexico Troops Establish Shelters for Trump Deportees
Mexican military scrambled to build up emergency shelters near the US-Mexico border on Thursday, citing President Donald Trump’s threat of mass deportations.
The Mexican government announced plans to open nine shelters for citizens and three more for deported foreigners under the “Mexico embraces you” program, but did not specify the total capacity.
According to an AFP correspondent, Navy men set up olive-green tents on a big sports field in the northeastern city of Matamoros, just across the border from Brownsville, Texas.
According to local authorities, the shelter, one of three being erected in Tamaulipas state, will be able to house approximately 3,000 people.
President Claudia Sheinbaum said this week that Mexico would provide humanitarian assistance to deported migrants from other countries before repatriating them.
On his first day back in office on Monday, Trump declared a national emergency at the US southern border and vowed to deport “millions and millions” of migrants.
His administration said it would also reinstate a “Remain in Mexico” policy that prevailed during Trump’s first presidency, under which people who apply to enter the United States from Mexico must remain there until their application has been decided.
The White House has also suspended an asylum program for migrants fleeing dictatorial governments in Central and South America, leaving hundreds stuck on Mexico’s side of the border.
On Wednesday, Trump’s office announced that he had deployed 1,500 additional military members to the border.
In December, Mexico’s government announced the creation of a smartphone app with an alarm button for migrants facing imminent incarceration in the United States, home to several million undocumented Mexicans.
AFP