Cranes are placing metal arches for new shelters in the city of Ciudad Juárez near the border with Texas, USA. The giant tent is expected to provide a roof over the heads of thousands of people and, according to Enrique Licon, who works with local authorities, can be ready within a few days.
This is unprecedented, he says to Reuters.
The tent is part of the Mexican government's efforts to receive what is expected to be a large number of people in nine border cities in northern Mexico. Several existing facilities in Tijuana, Ciudad Juárez, and Matamoros will also be used to receive migrants whose asylum meetings in the US have been cancelled following Donald Trump's presidency earlier in the week.
Mexicans will not only get a roof over their heads but also access to food, healthcare, and help with obtaining identification documents.
First Phase
The construction is only the first phase of an initiative that can grow further, says official Enrique Serrano in the state of Chihuahua, where Ciudad Juárez is located, to AP. Also in Nogales, which is located on the border with the US state of Arizona, shelters will be built on football fields and in a sports facility. Similar initiatives are being made in the border cities of Matamoros and Piedras Negras.
Many border shelters that have long offered migrants a refuge are still relatively empty compared to how it was a year ago. But those who run the shelters are preparing for what is to come.
Mass deportations in the US and the arrival of thousands of migrants from the south can overwhelm the city of Tijuana and other border cities, says José María Garcia, who is the head of a shelter, to AP.
"No Budget"
Minutes after Trump took office on Monday, the app CBP One, which allowed people to book meetings to seek asylum at the border before arriving, was stopped. The Pentagon has announced that up to 1,500 soldiers will be sent to the border with Mexico.
In Ciudad Juárez, Pastor Juan Fierro is preparing for many more to come to the El Buen Samaritano shelter, but is worried about the economy.
This shelter does not have a budget, we are working practically from one day to the next, he says to AP.
