Wary U.S.-Mexico border residents watch President Donald Trump take office
NOGALES, Ariz. — Diana Dorame was waiting Friday with her mother at the pedestrian crossing that links Nogales, Sonora, to Nogales, Ariz., when her phone pinged. It was just past 10 a.m.
She read the message aloud: "Donald Trump is now president."
Those words had resonance in every corner of the country, as the unconventional Republican took the oath of office. But the Trump presidency is being watched as closely here as anywhere for the many ways in which it could alter life in a town divided by an international border.
Dorame waited at the Morley crossing, the east-most international point of entry in the area. The line to enter the United States during the busy morning commute included about two dozen people.
To the east of the customs facilities stands an 18- to 20-foot metal spine that cuts into the neighboring hills and stretches to the horizon, dividing the twin border cities of Nogales.
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Under Trump's signature immigration proposal, the metal barrier would be replaced by a concrete wall along the entire 1,900-mile U.S.-Mexico border.
"I don't think it's a good idea," Dorame said of Trump's plans for a border wall. "... I think nothing would change. People would still try to cross over just for a better life."
'How the border works'
Still, Dorame said Trump had her support. That put her odds with many people on both sides of the border who talked to The Arizona Republic on Friday.
Trump's campaign promises, which have turned to assurances, have cast uncertainty in Nogales and other border communities. As president, he vowed to not only build a wall, but also deport millions of undocumented immigrants, potentially placing a large financial and logistical burden on border cities on the Mexico side of the border.
He's also attacked the North American Free Trade Association, which has attracted businesses and good-paying jobs to both sides of the border.
In his inauguration speech, the newly installed president made few references to those promises, saying only that, "We will bring back our borders." But 2,300 miles away, in Nogales, they were not far from people's minds.
"Right now, he [Trump] doesn't have the right information on how the border works," Nogales, Ariz., Mayor John Doyle said. "He tends to think that if it's out of the country, it has nothing to do with us."
Doyle's city, which relies heavily on Mexican shoppers, has already seen a huge drop in customers because high gasoline prices in Mexico and a weaker peso have discouraged shoppers from crossing over.
Now, he said, he's concerned that even the idea of a wall, will keep more people away and hurt border trade.
Mayors take on Trump
In his inauguration speech, Trump talked about the need to protect American workers and to keep companies from leaving the country.
In recent weeks, he took to Twitter to criticize and pressure companies such as automaker Ford into expanding operations in the U.S., at the expense of countries like Mexico.
In a not-so-subtle jab, he derided Mexico once again and the companies that set up shop there. "We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies and destroying our jobs," he said.
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With little confidence in Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, some elected officials in Mexico have begun to take on Trump on their own.
This week, mayors from Mexico's Conservation Action Party (PAN) gathered in Tijuana to hash out a unified response to Trump's economic and immigration policies. Among the proposals is a series of incentives meant to keep American businesses in their cities and even lure in additional investment from abroad.
"Using our municipal tax system, using the municipal system for permits and licenses in each city, we're hoping to persuade them that, despite the uneasiness right now, cities like Nogales will make it easier for them to continue their work here," Nogales, Sonora, Mayor Temo Galindo said.
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Galindo said the mayors came up with the proposal to be proactive despite the risk of further alienating the Trump administration.
"We are ready to defend the investments already in place in our country," he said. "If it gets complicated, we hope they don't shut us out, but the U.S. is not our only partner. We'll also be going after European and Asian companies to invest in our cities."
PAN currently holds the mayorship in nearly 400 of Mexico's 2400 municipalities, including the three major towns on the Arizona border: San Luis Rio Colorado, across from San Luis, Ariz; Nogales; and Agua Prieta, across from Douglas, Ariz.
