Mexican authorities have begun building huge temporary camps in the city of Ciudad Juarez to accommodate a possible wave of Mexicans deported as part of mass deportations promised by US President Donald Trump. The camps will have the capacity to house thousands of people and will be ready within days, municipal official Enrique Licon said, quoted by "Reuters".
"This is unprecedented," Licon said as workers unloaded metal structures in a large empty lot next to the Rio Grande River that separates Ciudad Juarez from the U.S. city of El Paso, Texas.
The camps in Ciudad Juarez are part of the Mexican government's "Mexico Embraces You" strategy, which envisages the construction of shelters and reception centers in nine cities along the country's northern border. In these centers, deported Mexicans will receive food, temporary shelter, medical care and assistance with obtaining identity documents.
The government also plans to provide buses to transport deportees back to their hometowns.
President Trump has announced plans to carry out the largest deportation in U.S. history, affecting millions of immigrants. According to a study by the Mexican think tank El Colegio de la Frontera Norte (COLEF), nearly 5 million Mexicans are living in the United States without permission. A significant portion of them come from areas ravaged by poverty and violence, such as Michoacan, Guerrero and Chiapas, where fighting between organized crime groups has forced thousands to flee.
Experts warn that Mexican border towns could quickly become overcrowded by a combination of mass deportations and the Trump administration’s increased measures to curb migration.
Mexico’s Interior Minister, Rosa Isela, said the government would do everything necessary to care for its compatriots. However, economic growth in the country remains weak, making it difficult for Mexico to integrate the millions of deportees.
Amid the uncertainty, local officials have expressed doubts about the country’s preparedness to deal with the crisis. One of them, José Luis Pérez, the director of migration affairs in Tijuana, was fired after publicly saying that Mexico was not ready to accept such a large number of deportees.
The temporary camp in Ciudad Juárez is being built near a large black cross where Pope Francis celebrated an outdoor mass in 2016 and warned of the humanitarian crisis affecting migrants. On Thursday evening, as soldiers were deployed to the site, construction began on an industrial kitchen that will provide food for the deportees.