Kajal Vyas

Yeah, Luke, it's quiet. I would say eerily quiet. We've seen the number of people trying to illegally cross into the U.S. just plummet more than 90 percent. I had a chance of speaking to a few Mexican nationals who were recently deported there, and they had very sad stories and almost were convinced that now is not the right time really to cross.

Yeah, Luke, it's quiet. I would say eerily quiet. We've seen the number of people trying to illegally cross into the U.S. just plummet more than 90 percent. I had a chance of speaking to a few Mexican nationals who were recently deported there, and they had very sad stories and almost were convinced that now is not the right time really to cross.

putting their plans of living out the American dream on pause for the moment. We're not really expecting the level of surveillance and the level of security that has been deployed by both sides to the border. And so it's really kind of made a lot of people think twice.

putting their plans of living out the American dream on pause for the moment. We're not really expecting the level of surveillance and the level of security that has been deployed by both sides to the border. And so it's really kind of made a lot of people think twice.

A lot of migrants from third countries are just stuck in limbo in Juarez and in other cities around northern Mexico, just kind of really figuring out where to go from here.

A lot of migrants from third countries are just stuck in limbo in Juarez and in other cities around northern Mexico, just kind of really figuring out where to go from here.

We had a chance to accompany Mexican state police for the state of Chihuahua, which actually has the longest border with the U.S. And they've been running these so-called mirror operations almost daily, where both sides just patrol their respective sides of the border, check in on areas where there's no wall or mesh fence.

We had a chance to accompany Mexican state police for the state of Chihuahua, which actually has the longest border with the U.S. And they've been running these so-called mirror operations almost daily, where both sides just patrol their respective sides of the border, check in on areas where there's no wall or mesh fence.

Also pick up any migrants, stragglers that they find, which they still do find occasionally, but they're nowhere near the numbers that we saw early 2024 and late 2023. So there's no real congregations of migrants at the border. There was a lot of impromptu camps of people if you just were there about a year ago. So you just see this very prevalent police deployment and from the U.S.

Also pick up any migrants, stragglers that they find, which they still do find occasionally, but they're nowhere near the numbers that we saw early 2024 and late 2023. So there's no real congregations of migrants at the border. There was a lot of impromptu camps of people if you just were there about a year ago. So you just see this very prevalent police deployment and from the U.S.

side, military deployment.

side, military deployment.

Both Mexico and the U.S. have had this very integrated economy for decades. And at the moment, we're just seeing very nervous business actors about where Trump's plans to apply tariffs could lead and what kind of disruptions it could entail. They did already see a pretty substantial drop just in the three-day trial run that we saw the U.S. apply tariffs in early March.

Both Mexico and the U.S. have had this very integrated economy for decades. And at the moment, we're just seeing very nervous business actors about where Trump's plans to apply tariffs could lead and what kind of disruptions it could entail. They did already see a pretty substantial drop just in the three-day trial run that we saw the U.S. apply tariffs in early March.

So just from Juarez, there's about 3,700 trucks that cross into the U.S. every day with merchandise. And we saw the numbers drop off pretty fast in those three days. We saw a 7% drop in day one, a 9% drop in day two, and a 14% drop on day three, just before President Trump decided to push off the tariff application for another month.

So just from Juarez, there's about 3,700 trucks that cross into the U.S. every day with merchandise. And we saw the numbers drop off pretty fast in those three days. We saw a 7% drop in day one, a 9% drop in day two, and a 14% drop on day three, just before President Trump decided to push off the tariff application for another month.

And this really is a big change from how things have been playing out for border commerce in recent years. And so we're coming across this very pivotal moment where this could very much be disrupted or even ruptured.

And this really is a big change from how things have been playing out for border commerce in recent years. And so we're coming across this very pivotal moment where this could very much be disrupted or even ruptured.

Absolutely. And we've heard this from Mexican officials directly that if they are slapped with very painful tariffs, it could affect their cooperation on the security and migration front. The message I often heard from people was, you know, we've done everything. drug busts. Mexico handed nearly 30 high-profile drug kingpins to the U.S. recently.

Absolutely. And we've heard this from Mexican officials directly that if they are slapped with very painful tariffs, it could affect their cooperation on the security and migration front. The message I often heard from people was, you know, we've done everything. drug busts. Mexico handed nearly 30 high-profile drug kingpins to the U.S. recently.

They've had numerous seizures of money and people have been really applauding that in Mexico. But the question is, what more are you looking for? And they're really working hard to avoid the tariffs, which will have a serious knock-on effect on the country.

They've had numerous seizures of money and people have been really applauding that in Mexico. But the question is, what more are you looking for? And they're really working hard to avoid the tariffs, which will have a serious knock-on effect on the country.