SAN JOSE (KRON) — Closing the U.S. – Mexico border would impact everything from trade to travel to the immigration status of those immigrants already here who are trying to gain legal status.
Reaction ranges from disbelief to outright fear of what could happen if the border is shutdown.
Travel agents like Direct Travel’s Jan Morris say President Trump’s threat to close the border hasn’t resulted in any cancellations just yet.
But were the border to be closed, Morris can only imagine the complications that could impact a cruise or air travel already booked.
“I’d say 60 percent of our business is Mexico, which includes honeymoons, destination weddings, cruise lines — it would affect huge, with all the cruises, people that have timeshares in Mexico,” Morris said.
The possible border closure was also on the mind of Maritza Maldonado, executive director of Amigos De Guadalupe, which supports immigrants with housing and counseling.
“We provide immigration legal services for families here in the local community,” Maldonado said. “And we’re concerned about their applications, will they go through. We also provide citizenship and ESL — all immigrants wanting to make a better life for themselves.”
Maldonado says there is real fear in the community that families will be forever cut off from one another.
A border closure could also have a major economic impact on local businesses that rely on trade with mexico as well as all the spring break vacation plans, says Morris.
“We have hundreds of poeple going to Mexico for spring break and Easter — hundreds,” she said.
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