A Border Patrol vehicle sits near border walls separating Tijuana, Mexico, from the United States, Tuesday, June 4, 2024, in San Diego. President Joe Biden has unveiled plans to enact immediate significant restrictions on migrants seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border as the White House tries to neutralize immigration as a political liability ahead of the November elections.
Joanna Williams with the binational migrant help center Kino Border Initiative in Nogales, Sonora, says they are preparing, initially, for people to be deported who have already been issued an official order to leave the country by a judge. Someone could have a removal order for reasons that include entering the country unauthorized or overstaying a visa.
“Throughout the United States, there's about 250,000 Mexicans who have final orders of removal, and many of them haven't been removed because they've been living in the U.S. for 20 or 30 years, and have kids here, and they're contributing to the community,” Williams said. “And so the Biden administration didn't prioritize them for removal, but the Trump administration is saying that those people will be priorities.”
Williams said they are preparing for at least a few thousand people deported through Nogales this year.
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