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Victor Santana owns a row of pot-a-pots near the bridge of the Americas separating Juárez from El Paso. Border disturbances have resulted in long delays. Ciudad Juárez offers free bathrooms for travelers trapped in these long lines.
Mallory Falk / KRWG
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Mallory Falk / KRWG
Victor Santana owns a row of pot-a-pots near the bridge of the Americas separating Juárez from El Paso. Border disturbances have resulted in long delays. Ciudad Juárez offers free bathrooms for travelers trapped in these long lines.
Mallory Falk / KRWG
President Trump dismissed his threats to close the US-Mexico border. But uncertainty and disruptions along the border have created concern for many residents.
Hundreds of Customs and Border Protection officials have been reassigned from their usual ports of entry to help migrant families crossing the border in increasing numbers. This has led to longer and more unpredictable waiting times on international bridges and increasing stress for everyone from business owners to university students.
At the University of Texas at El Paso, or UTEP, nearly a thousand students live in Juárez, the sister of El Paso, and go to school to school. the border. Lately, it has not been easy.
"Before all the chaos happened at the border, I needed about 20 minutes to an hour, depending on the day and the hour," said Carlos Medina, major in psychology. "But now it takes me three to five hours."
Medina sits in a cafe on campus and studies with her friend and border colleague Alejandra Salcido. She says that increasing waiting times and constant uncertainty are incredibly stressful. She even has a plan to know what to do if the border is closed.
"I have clothes in my car in case I should stay here," she says. "I have an uncle here so I can stay there, and the fact is my son is in Juárez, so in case I have to stay here, he will have to stay there, we will be separated."
Salcido is anxious to spend time away from his four year old son.
"What's really special about this area of the country is that we often do not see ourselves as two different countries," said Catie McCorry-Andalis, Dean of UTEP students. "We really see ourselves as one community, and moments like these remind us," Oh, there are two different countries here. "But that's not how we operate."
The university is taking steps to support students and staff living in Juárez, providing temporary on-campus accommodation and virtual consulting services. A newly launched website includes resources for border crossings and updates on entry points.
"You know, this is largely due to the fear of the unknown," said McCorry-Andalis. "We just do not know what's going to happen, so we really make sure we have a plan, no matter what happens, and that they're successful."
Border trade
The impact extends well beyond the university. Nearly one billion dollars of trade crosses the US-Mexico border every day, mainly in El Paso.
Jon Barela is the CEO of Borderplex Alliance, a non-profit economic development association serving Juárez, El Paso and Las Cruces, NM. and would immediately cost the US economy tens of millions of dollars, "he says.
Barela said the border region depends on cross-border trade. Between 15% and 30% of the retail trade comes from Mexican nationals who cross the border to shop or eat. But the rest of the country also depends on this trade.
"We're seeing freight trucks carrying very important goods for our manufacturing supply chain in the United States, with waiting times of twelve hours or more," Barela said. "And it can not last long before you start to see very negative economic impacts in the United States."
A recent morning, queues of commercial vehicles and passengers had spread far away from the Mexican side of the International Bridge of the Americas. The lines have become so long that the mayor of Juárez has installed porta-potties.
Victor Santana uses a folding table with hand sanitizer and a large ream of toilet paper. "We provide free bathroom services," he says, "because the waiting time exceeds four hours".
Juan Manuel Chavez sat in his cargo truck stalled as the breeze passed through an open window. He said he had been queuing for more than six hours since 4:30 pm that morning. The wait was even longer the day before, he said. He wanted to make two deliveries at the border, but it was just not possible. And that, he says, has an economic impact.
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