How will the closure of the border with which Donald Trump threatens Mexico affect trade?

President Donald Trump's threat to close the border with Mexico increased the possibility of major economic repercussions in the United States and change daily life in a region of the country that depends on international flowsnot only products and services, but also students, families and workers.

Politicians, business leaders and economists have warned that the measure would prevent the entry of consignments of fruits and vegetables, televisions, medical devices and other products., in addition impede the movement of people to their workplaces and schools, or those who enter the country for shopping.

"Let's hope the threat is only a bad joke," said economist Dan Grisworld of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University in Virginia. He stressed that Trump's threat would be "totally absurd" and stressed that Every day, an average of 15,000 trucks and $ 1,600 million cross the border..

"If trade is interrupted, US producers would suffer catastrophic disruptions in their supply chains, American families would see a increase in the price of their food and the vehicles, and the exporters would not have their third largest market, "he said.

Trump spoke Friday of the possibility of closing the ports of entry of the southern border and reiterated it on Twitter this weekend, due to the increase in the number of Central American migrants seeking asylum. 39; asylum. Trump government officials said that the arrival of people had overloaded the immigration system to the point of collapse. "The next step is to close the border!"he exclaimed.

Elected officials from the border communities, from San Diego to the cities of El Paso and Laredo, Texas, warned against chaos on both sides of the international border in case the entry points are closed. The US Chamber of Commerce joined them, claiming that such a measure would cause "serious economic harm".

In Imperial Valley, California, across the border with Mexicali, Mexico, farmers depend on workers arriving every day from Mexico for harvest lettuce, carrot, onion and other vegetables. The car parks of the shopping centers of the region are full of vehicles with Mexican registration plates.

More than 60% of the winter season vegetables produced in Mexico and consumed in the United States enter the country through Nogales, Arizona. The winter harvest season is particularly active right now, with the import of watermelons, grapes and Mexican squash, said Lance Jungmeyer, president of the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas.

He stressed that 11,000 to 12,000 commercial trucks cross the Nogales border every day, loaded with approximately 22,000 tons vegetables like eggplant, tomato, pepper, lettuce, cucumber and blackberries.

He indicated that closing the border would mean immediate layoffs and lead to shortages and price increases in shops and restaurants. "If that happens, and hopefully that will not happen, I would not go to a store and see how it is four or five days later," Jungmeyer said.

Laredo Mayor Pete Saenz, chairman of the Texas Border Coalition, said that a border closure would be catastrophic.

"Close the border cause immediate depression in border state communities and, depending on the duration, a recession in the rest of the country"he stated.

"Our businesses would close," said Marta Salas, an employee of a store located in El Paso, near the border, which sells plastic flowers used at traditional XV-year celebrations in Mexico. Salas said his entire family, including those attending the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), would be affected by a border closure. "There too live Americans, I have nephews who come every day to UTEP, to primary school or high school," Salas said.

The Trump administration announced on Monday that some 2,000 federal inspectors to control vehicles and goods transport at ports of entry on the southern border could be reallocated to help manage the increase in the number of migrants . Currently, about 750 inspectors are being rebadigned.

It could also impede the transit of trucks and people across the border.

The effects were evident on Monday: Sergio Amaya, a 24-year-old US citizen residing in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and a student at UTEP, said that It normally takes two minutes to cross the bridge. This time it took an hour. "The Border Patrol Officer said that it's going to get worseAmaya commented.

Instead of guaranteeing the movement of goods across the border, inspectors are badigned to the treatment of migrants, receiving their asylum applications and transferring them to detention centers. US Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said reallocations were needed to help manage the huge revenues that weigh on the system. "The crisis at our border is worsening and DHS will do everything in its power to stop it," said Nielsen, using the English initials of the Department of Homeland Security.

In addition to the rebadignment of the inspectors, Nielsen solicited volunteers from non-immigrant agencies dependent on his department, in addition to sending a letter to Congress asking for resources and increased authority to expedite deportation families. The government is also stepping up efforts to return asylum seekers to Mexico.

Arrests on the southern border have increased in recent months and border officials are expected to make 100,000 arrests or refusals of entry in March. More than half of this figure comes from families with children.