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Trump sees his campaign against a “crisis” on the border as key to his 2020 reelection bid, and his trip to Calexico in California was meant to keep that message in the headlines.
Numbers of migrants and asylum seekers fleeing violence in Central America have risen sharply, although there are enormous political divides on whether this constitutes the “national emergency” that Trump has declared.
At a meeting with border patrol agents and other officials in Calexico, he said “it’s overwhelming our immigration system and we can’t let that happen.”
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Around 200 protesters, accompanied by a giant inflatable balloon depicting Trump as a baby, were waiting for the president in Mexicali, the town on the Mexican side of the frontier.
Waving the US and Mexican flags, the protesters carried signs with messages such as “Stop separating families” and “If you build the wall, my generation will tear it down.”
On the US side, dozens of people lined the road that Trump’s motorcade took from the airport, demonstrating support for his policies. “Build the wall,” said one placard.
Before leaving Washington earlier, Trump said that his previous threats to shut down the border had been successful in persuading Mexican authorities to clamp down by stopping migrants on their journey north.