Mexican border town residents shocked the media with revelation about Donald Trump
The Biden administration’s border nightmare is officially over.
Mexican officials are scrambling to deal with a reality they never saw coming.
And these Mexican border town residents shocked the media with one revelation about Donald Trump.
Empty shelters tell the whole story
The Mexican border town of Nogales built massive shelters in preparation for what they thought would be waves of deportees flooding back from America under President Trump’s crackdown.¹
Those shelters are now sitting practically empty.
"Well-equipped shelters were built, and they were practically empty — 10, 15, 30 people a day. So they dismantled them," Filiberto, a local photography business owner, told Fox News Digital.¹
The mayor of Nogales, Juan Francisco Gim Nogales, admitted his city was caught completely off-guard by the reality of Trump’s policies.
"We receive 60 migrants on average. So, nothing to do with the number we expected and with all the infrastructure we prepared," the mayor said in an earlier interview with Fox News Digital.¹
Translation: Mexico built all this infrastructure expecting chaos, and instead they got order.
That’s what happens when you have a President who actually means what he says about securing the border.
Drug trafficking takes a nosedive
But the empty shelters aren’t even the best part of this story.
Local business owners in Nogales are reporting something that would’ve been unthinkable under Biden’s open border policies.
"Drug trafficking has been controlled a lot, there’s barely any now. It’s not like it used to be," Filiberto explained.¹
Juan, who runs a local restaurant, said the difference is night and day compared to the chaos they used to experience.
"We’ve gone through very tough times because, although right now — this past year, these last two years — there’s been some calm in terms of insecurity, in earlier times we had a lot of problems," Juan told Fox News Digital.¹
Think about what this means.
Mexican business owners are saying there’s less drug trafficking and more security because of Trump’s policies.
That’s the kind of result you get when you actually enforce immigration law instead of pretending it doesn’t exist.
The caravans dried up
Remember those massive migrant caravans that used to dominate the news cycle under Biden?
They’ve practically disappeared.
"The [number of] people who used to come from the south in caravans have decreased a lot. In fact, we’ve never had as much calm as we do today," food vendor Juan said.¹
The Mexican National Guard is now actively watching the border instead of waving people through like they did during the Biden years.
"There aren’t as many people wanting to cross the border anymore… There used to be a lot, but things have calmed down a lot," Juan explained.¹
Local store owner Mario put it even more bluntly: "There are not that many people that want to cross anymore. With what Trump is doing, people are starting to think about going back or staying put."¹
That’s called deterrence, and it works when you have leadership that’s serious about enforcing the law.
Border crossings at record lows
The Pentagon has set up a new 250-mile National Defense Area along the border in Texas, and crossings are at record lows.¹
Local residents in Nogales are noticing the difference immediately.
"There are not that many people that want to cross anymore," one entrepreneur setting up her storefront said.¹
Even the ports of entry that used to be packed with people trying to get into America have barely "seen anyone" according to local residents.¹
Angelica, a local flower shop owner, said while some people still try to cross, the numbers are way down.
"I think maybe fewer people are crossing, but there are still some. Many people don’t stop trying," she said.¹
But the key difference is that now there are actual consequences for illegal border crossings instead of the catch-and-release policies that turned America into a global magnet for illegal immigration.
What this means for America
This is what real border security looks like.
When you have a President who’s serious about enforcing immigration law, it sends a message that travels all the way down to Mexican border towns.
People aren’t even trying to cross illegally anymore because they know Trump means business.
Mexican officials built infrastructure expecting chaos and got order instead.
Drug trafficking has plummeted in border areas.
The migrant caravans have dried up.
And crossings are at record lows.
This is the exact opposite of what happened under Biden’s open border policies that turned the southern border into a free-for-all.
Now Mexico is dealing with the reality that America has a President who actually believes in having borders again.
The empty shelters in Nogales tell you everything you need to know about how effective Trump’s policies have been.
When even Mexican business owners are saying there’s less crime and more security because of American immigration enforcement, you know the policy is working.
¹ Alba Cuebas-Fantauzzi and Nikolas Lanum, "Mexican border town sees fewer crossing attempts, deportations than expected under Trump," Fox News, July 2, 2025.
