By Gloria Guajardo
It has been nearly two months since President Donald Trump took office. In these few weeks, his administration has placed immigrants all over the US on edge.
Drastic immigration laws have been passed on promising to reduce the flow of immigrants into the country and removing those already residing illegally in the US. Numerous immigrants have been put on the spot as they fear being deported from the only country they know as home.
These immigration laws have frightened countless individuals and made several decide to go back to their country of origin. Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto affirmed Mexico had their doors open for any immigrant that felt the need to go back “home”.
However, the nature of these laws have not only alarmed those immigrants already living in the US. These immigration laws have already been applied even to those with resident visas and threaten to deny entry to those holding tourist visas.
Laredo, Texas, being a major border town, has seen a decrease in retail sales since the immigration laws were passed. According to a T-Mobile sales associate at Mall del Norte (who asked to remain anonymous), sales and people coming from Mexico have decreased daily. Many individuals as she stated, “are bothered by Trump’s decisions and scared to come to Laredo and have their tourist visas taken away”.
On the other hand, as The Outlets prepare to open in approximately a month, many managers are afraid to see their stores empty. Businesses, such as those dealing with hospitality, have lowered their prices as much as they can in hopes of attracting more “paisanos”.
If this pattern continues, Laredo and other cities that open their doors daily to Mexican tourists, will suffer a painful loss in sales. As a city that thrives through trade with Mexico, this could have a potentially devastating effect on the local economy.
