Even before it's built, Trump's wall is traumatizing would-be immigrants


Many recent deportees and other potential immigrants along the Mexican border to the United States are having second thoughts about whether or not to attempt an illegal crossing, the Los Angeles Times reports. "It's just too hard now with [President] Trump," said Alejandro Ramos Maceda, who was deported following a traffic charge in St. Louis, leaving his wife and daughters, who are citizens, behind in the U.S. "It's just a lot harder to cross than we thought," added another potential migrant, Vicente Vargas, 15, who turned back with a group of other teenagers after considering the crossing.
While Trump's wall has yet to be constructed and the administration has not yet bolstered its Border Patrol forces, "people are psychologically traumatized," a people smuggler told the Times.
"There's just a lot of uncertainty right now," said Jesus Arturo Madrid Rosas, a representative for Grupo Beta, a Mexican organization that assists migrants. "People don't know what's going to happen. Maybe that's keeping some people back."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The thinning traffic over the border is not even entirely Trump's doing; multiple presidential administrations have improved security, from fencing to hiring more guards. In 2016, there were just 408,870 apprehensions on the southwest border, compared with 1.6 million in 2000 or 1.1 million in 2006.
But today, "Trump, the border, deportations, roundups" are "all anyone is talking about," Sheriff Tony Estrada of Arizona's Santa Cruz County told the Los Angeles Times. "You hear it in the cafes, in the restaurants, everywhere. People are scared." Read the full report here.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Fed leaves rates unchanged as Powell warns on tariffs
speed read The Federal Reserve says the risks of higher inflation and unemployment are increasing under Trump's tariffs
-
Denmark to grill US envoy on Greenland spying report
speed read The Trump administration ramped up spying on Greenland, says reporting by The Wall Street Journal
-
Supreme Court allows transgender troop ban
speed read The US Supreme Court will let the Trump administration begin executing its ban on transgender military service members
-
Hollywood confounded by Trump's film tariff idea
speed read President Trump proposed a '100% tariff' on movies 'produced in foreign lands'
-
Trump offers migrants $1,000 to 'self-deport'
speed read The Department of Homeland Security says undocumented immigrants can leave the US in a more 'dignified way'
-
Trump is not sure he must follow the Constitution
speed read When asked about due process for migrants in a TV interview, President Trump said he didn't know whether he had to uphold the Fifth Amendment
-
Trump judge bars deportations under 1798 law
speed read A Trump appointee has ruled that the president's use of a wartime act for deportations is illegal
-
Trump ousts Waltz as NSA, taps him for UN role
speed read President Donald Trump removed Mike Waltz as national security adviser and nominated him as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations